Without you
by KaibaGirl007
Summary: When Mokuba died Kaiba lost everything, little did he expect to find love in the process of trying to rebuild his life. SetoXRyou.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Yugioh!**

**First scene of this chapter has been extended thanks to the suggestion made by silverfoxninja**

**Chapter One**

Laughter filled the air of the Domino city park as the fair was in town. For one week only there were thrilling rides, rigged game stalls, disappointing side shows, rows of unhealthy junk food counters and cheaply made overpriced toys that parents would buy to keep their child happy for a very short period of time until the item in question fell apart.

Mokuba loved everything that these events had to offer and wished that his brother could see how wonderful the experience could be for just once in his life. He sighed once more as he remembered the disagreement that they had a short while earlier, when his brother made it clear that he would not step foot near the fair. But at least he was allowed to go himself and tagged along with Yugi and Tea as they were on their way to meet Joey and Tristan.

The gang had spent most of the day at the fair and was about to queue for their final ride of the day. "I want the front car!" Joey yelled excitedly as he joined the queue.

"You're not sitting next to me." Tristan protested, queuing behind him. "I've seen what you've just eaten and I don't want to see it again."

"I'm going to sit this one out." Tea told her friends as she watched the rollercoaster travel around its triple loops.

"There's nothing to be afraid of Tea." Mokuba blurted out.

"I'm not afraid!" replied Tea angrily, turning a bright shade of red and failing to hide the fact that she was indeed afraid.

"Come on Yugi." Mokuba dragged him past a happy couple to stand next in line after Tristan.

"I don't know." Yugi replied nervously as he too watched the rollercoaster go round. "I don't think I'm tall enough."

The queue moved fast and in no time at all, the four friends were at the front of the queue. All of them were tall enough to board the ride even though Yugi insisted on being measured without his boots on and hair swept back. They climbed on board as soon as the coaster came to a halt, Joey sitting at the front, Tristan a few cars back with Yugi and Mokuba together behind him.

"Seto would love this!" Mokuba shouted excitedly.

Tea watched from the ground as the coaster set off up the first straight to the top of a steep slope. Her stomach churned with each sound of the clinking wheels that carried the coaster's cars further up the slope. She hated any kind of ride that went upside down so was glad that she wasn't riding this one that had three loops.

_Clink, clink, clink. _The coaster had reached the top of the slope and sped down the drop with a _whoosh _causing all the riders to laugh and scream with delight. All except Yugi who had his eyes closed as he feared going around the triple loops, but soon reopened them as the ride became more terrifying without his vision.

As they went around the first loop, Mokuba felt that his harness wasn't securely fastened. "My harness is loose!" he shouted to Yugi.

"What?!" Yugi felt his own fear drain away as he became concerned about his friend. He stretched his arm out across Mokuba's harness to try and assure that it stayed in place for the rest of the ride as they now travelled around the second loop. "Hold on Mokuba!"

Mokuba screamed in terror as his weight press against the harness and felt it move more as the safety latch unlocked completely, the only reason he remained it his seat was because Yugi's arm had been there to hold it as they came down from the loop.

Yugi fought hard and struggled to keep hold of his grip across Mokuba but had managed it, just. The third and final loop was coming up and he gripped as tight as he could as if his own life depended on it.

Tears streamed from Mokuba's eyes and he forced them shut as they began to travel around the last loop. He wished that he had stayed with his brother instead of going to the fair and promised himself that he would never step foot near one ever again. In fact, he'd never leave his brother's side from then on.

Gravity took a forceful hold over Mokuba at the top of the loop and the weight was just too great for Yugi to keep hold on the harness as his arm was thrown away. He watched in what seemed like slow motion as Mokuba slipped out from his seat and straight passed his hands that both reached for the younger boy. There was fear staring up at him from the wide open terrified grey-blue eyes as Mokuba screamed out for his brother during the fall to the ground below.

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In his office, Kaiba sat typing away at his computer, just like he did most of the time. He stopped and rubbed his eyes which were starting to hurt from not having a break for so long, and looked at the clock. It was nearly four o'clock and over six hours since he had had a disagreement with Mokuba about attending the stupid fair. It was also that long

since he had stopped working and was beginning to think that his brother had a point after all and that he should spend less time in the office. The phone rang and Kaiba swiftly answered it.

"Sir, there's a Tea Gardner on the line who insists she speak with you." The voice on the other end of the phone informed him. There was a pause, as Kaiba made no attempt at a reply, and then the voice added: "She says it's of real importance."

"Put her on." Kaiba grumbled. He had no desire what so ever to speak with Tea, but it was unusual for her to call like this. He heard the _click_ as the line changed and was now talking to Tea. "This had better be important."

"It is." He heard Tea's voice tremble as she spoke. "Earlier Mokuba tagged along to the fair with Yugi and myself." She was cut off mid sentence as Kaiba interrupted her.

"If he's misbehaved, I'll have a word with him." Kaiba sighed rubbing his eyes once more. Why was she wasting his time? "But nobody asked you to play the role of babysitter."

"It's not that." Tea sounded almost terrified. "There was an accident, a bad one, and Mokuba's in the hospital crying out for you."

Kaiba's heart seemed to stop and his eyes widened from what he had heard "Tell him I'm on my way." he slammed the phone down and wasted no time in rushing to be by his brother's side.

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The waiting room at the ER was filled with people baring signs of accidents, everything from injured limbs to great big gaping wounds. Ignoring those around him, Kaiba approached the reception desk eager to find Mokuba. "I was informed that my brother was brought here a little while ago."

"His name please?" The receptionist asked as she got ready to do a name search on the hospital's computer system.

"Mokuba Kaiba." He said calmly even though he could now feel himself starting to panic. If Mokuba was scared and in pain he wanted to be there and reassure him that it would all be okay.

"Kaiba!" Tea called as she headed towards him. It looked as though she was crying.

"What happened?" Kaiba snapped impatiently.

"There was a rollercoaster he was riding on and some of the safety harnesses failed." Tea was unable to go on with more details as tears streamed down her face. "Yugi's with him right now."

"No he's not." Kaiba said as he saw Yugi walking right towards them clutching at something with both hands and a distant look in his eyes. There was a dressing for a deep cut to one of his checks. "How is he?" he asked gently, before the receptionist diverted his attention.

"Sir, I'm afraid that there is no Mokuba Kaiba on any of the wards in this hospital."

"That's nonsense." Kaiba shook his head and then pointed at Yugi. "He's just been with him"

"She's telling the truth." Yugi said weakly. He began to slowly release the grip on the object he held in his hands to reveal the locket that Mokuba always wore around his neck.

Kaiba stared down in horror and took the locket from Yugi. For what seemed like eternity but was in fact just a spilt second, Kaiba found himself unable to breathe or control his facial features and he felt as though his insides had been ripped away.

"The doctors tried." Yugi went on unaware that Kaiba wasn't taking in a thing he was saying, his voice shook with each word as his friend's terrified look remained clear in his mind. "But when he slipped into unconsciousness they just lost control."

"Which way?" Kaiba asked when he managed to gain control of his voice again. "Which way!" he yelled again at a terrified Yugi who had failed to reply to him first time round. He watched as Yugi raised a trembling hand and left at a sprint ignoring Tea's pleads to come back. He didn't want to believe it and wouldn't until he had seen Mokuba for himself.

A couple of times he was asked to leave by members of staff as he ran down corridors that were off limits to the public. Ignoring them he continued on his way until he got to the area were bodies were kept before being transported to the city morgue.

The room was very dimly lit and almost unbearably cold. He walked between two rows of tables each with a body covered up and a tag around the exposed foot until he found the one that read 'Kaiba, Mokuba'. He took a deep breathe and slowly pulled back the white sheet to be met with Mokuba's sleeping face.

"Get up, we're going home." He ordered his brother but there was no response. He took a deep breath and swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. "You were right; I work too much, so let's go spend some time together." His voice was soft and kind but still there was no response. He reached out with both hands, took hold of Mokuba's cold hand raised it slightly and lowered his head until he felt Mokuba's fingertips brush against his cheek. "Get up." He pleaded as tears began to form in his eyes, but still there was no response.

A white coat slowly approached Kaiba from behind and gently spoke to him. "I understand you're upset but please leave until it is time for you to visit the body."

"He's not a body!" Kaiba turned and roared, still holding his brother's hand. "He's my brother."

The doctor stood his ground and didn't move from were he stood. "I know." He said sympathetically. "But security is on its way to remove you." He watched as Kaiba turned away back to the body on the table. "They'll use force if they have too." He sighed.

Kaiba continued to just stand there holding Mokuba's hand and stare at his sleeping face, which was covered in cuts and bruises. By now Kaiba had lost the ability to think about anything. His whole world had just been taken from him and all that was left was emptiness.

He didn't even notice that two members of security had managed to break him free from his brother and were now escorting him through the corridors of the hospital. "Let go of me!" he said as threateningly as he could once he realised what was happening. He struggled in their grasp and managed to free one of his arms.

"If you continue like this then I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to remove you from the hospital completely." One of the security officers informed him.

"I'd like to see you try." Kaiba hissed as he broke free from the other officer and ran back to find Mokuba. Nobody was going to separate him from his brother. He had only managed to clear a short distance when he was tackled by another two security officers.

Kaiba was dragged kicking and screaming all the way back through the hospital. At times it took all four of the security officers to restrain him. Finally they reached the entrance and with one huge effort Kaiba was thrown down to the ground were he landed on all fours and was told to 'go home and calm down'. He knelt there for a few moments to regain control of his breathing and the situation he was in.

"Kaiba." Yugi's voice was right above him.

Raising his head Kaiba looked up to see Yugi standing over him. He forced himself to stand and instantly became aware of all the onlookers and passers by that had gathered for the commotion he had caused. He could see them all staring, pointing, whispering and even laughing. On top of Mokuba's death the humiliation he was experiencing now felt almost equally as bad. He began to walk away from Yugi and towards his car that he had parked in a hurry across two parking spaces. He fumbled for the keys in his pocket to make a quick get away to somewhere were he could be on his own.

Yugi watched sadly as Kaiba sped off at high speed in his car. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see Joey stood next to him. He smiled up at his friend who like him was one of the lucky ones whose safety harness hadn't failed.

"Tea told me about Mokuba." Joey said softly. "Even I wouldn't have wished that on Kaiba." He paused for a moment before adding "How'd he take it?"

"Very badly." Yugi replied. "I'm worried about him." He fell quiet as though waiting for Joey to say the same thing.

"Nah, he's a survivor." Joey tried to reassure Yugi but failed. After an awkward pause he changed the subject. "Tristan's had his leg pinned and is just waiting for the cast to dry so we'll be out of here shortly."

Together they turned and headed back inside the hospital. Neither of them spoke a word as they did so.


	2. Chapter 2

**I still don't, or ever will, own any rights to yugioh!****  
**

**Chapter Two  
**

Four men in black suits carried a white coffin through the churchyard towards its final resting place. Behind it walked Kaiba who remained emotionless and carried a single white rose. Even though he had had a week to come to terms with his brother's death he was still in denial and was convinced that he would wake up to find that the whole thing had just been a bad dream, and was so convinced by this that he hadn't even given a speech during the funeral readings. Behind him followed members of his staff, and friends of Mokuba which included Yugi and his gang, all of whom had shed tears at some point during the readings.

As they approached the grave Kaiba was unable to take his eyes off the huge emptiness that he was about to place his brother in. It seemed to symbolise the way he was feeling, but were as you could see the earth at the bottom where the coffin would soon be at rest, his emptiness continued even further. He found himself standing alone at one side with everybody else gathered around the other with tears still flowing freely, whilst he didn't feel any need to show such emotion. Not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.

The coffin was slowly lowered into the hole and brought gently to rest at the bottom. Soft earth slowly covered the coffin lid and Kaiba released the rose from his hand where it landed on top of a small mound before it too was also covered. He closed his eyes and wished that he'd been able to say a better farewell to Mokuba but knew that his brother would have understood how hard it was for him. Mokuba was the only one who even came close to knowing what he'd been through and nobody would ever replace him.

Kaiba felt something soft rest on his arm and opened his eyes to see Yugi standing beside him with a sympathetic look on his face. He looked down to see that Yugi had placed a hand on his arm as a sign of support. After gazing back at the grave that was almost filled in he coldly shook off the hand, turned and left.

"Kaiba, please." Yugi almost cried as he watched him walk away and felt himself being held back by his grandfather.

"Let him be." Yugi's grandfather kindly told him. "It's not easy accepting the loss of someone you love, especially when they were the only living family you had."

"That's why he needs us." Yugi tried again to persuade the others to let him approach Kaiba once more like he had done all week.

Tristan sighed and rolled his wheelchair closer to his friend, being careful not to hit anyone with his outstretched leg. "I think what Gramps is trying to say is that Kaiba will come to us in his own time."

"This is Kaiba we're talking about." Joey butted in. At first he was sympathetic towards Kaiba but as the week went on and he watched Kaiba coldly reject his friend's offer of help time after time, his true feelings about him soon returned back to normal. "Mister 'I don't need anybody else' …… Ow!" He rubbed his arm were Tea had hit him hard.

"Don't be so insensitive!" she remarked angrily.

"Not today you two." Duke told the two arguing friends who both agreed that now was neither the time nor place for their foolish behaviour.

"We should move along to the wake." Yugi's grandfather patted his grandson on the shoulder and slowly they all left the grave.

All apart from Bakura who stood looking down at the grave as the final shovelful of earth was laid to rest. Until Yugi's grandfather had mentioned it he had no idea that Mokuba had been Kaiba's only family. Now he understood why Yugi tried so hard to help Kaiba through the hard time that was about to lie ahead of him. "Goodbye Mokuba." he whispered softly before turning to follow the others. "We'll make sure he's okay."

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After avoiding the wake, Kaiba returned home to his mansion late evening. He didn't want to be around others who would spend all of their time just pitying him and drinking themselves drunk, so instead he spent the time working at his company's building away from anyone and anything that would remind him of the day's events. The place was now empty with only the remains of the food and drink scattered around the ground floor rooms, and a note from his maid, who he had given time off for the funeral, saying that she would clean up everything the moment she started the next morning.

Right now, the only thing he wanted to do now was rest. A week of near sleeplessness was starting to catch up with him and he could feel his body weakening with each passing moment. He climbed the two staircases, careful not to trip with his feet dragging as though made of lead, and made his way to his room. He stopped as he came to the open door of Mokuba's room and after a moments hesitation he entered.

The room was just like it had been a couple of weeks back the last time Kaiba had entered it. Piles of comic books where stacked down one side of Mokuba's unmade bed which was guarded by a chibi plush of a blue eyes white dragon. Wires and control pads for a games console sprawled out across the floor with a selection of games that had not been placed back inside their cases. Countless posters of his brother's favourite bands, films and idols lined the walls almost covering them underneath.

Kaiba approached the bed and sat down, pushing chibi blue eyes to one side as he did so. He glanced around the room as though he had never seen it before and stopped his gaze once he spotted a photo frame standing on a shelf that also displayed several action figures. He got up from the bed and walked over to the shelf were he picked up the frame.

Staring back at him was a photo of himself and Mokuba. He couldn't remember when it had been taken and was even more surprised to see a faint smile upon his face as he stood next to Mokuba who looked as though his face would split in two if his smile had been any bigger.

He was about to place the frame back on the shelf when his hand misjudged the position as a result of his tiredness, and it fell to the floor. The glass shattered and several tiny pieces skewered through the photo.

Kaiba bent down to retrieve it. _Never mind. _He thought to himself staring at the ruined photo. _It'll be easy to replace, all we have to do is pose for another photo together... _And then it hit him. There would be no more photos of the two of them, Mokuba was dead.

The little strength that he had disappeared and he collapsed down to his knees, narrowly missing the shards of glass. He would never again see his brother's smiling face or hear his brother's voice complain about him spending too much time working. Both his eyes and his throat were now burning. He fought hard to keep back the surge of emotion that had been building up inside him all this time, but he failed and burst into floods of tears.

An hour later and Kaiba was still in the same spot and crying heavily. Everything life had thrown at him so far he had stood firm and taken each blow. He had had to stay strong and grow up quick, not only for himself but for Mokuba, and so the experience had taught him that emotions were only for the weak. But right now he didn't care anymore.

Without his brother there was no reason for living. And there he remained all night letting out years of built up pain.


	3. Chapter 3

**  
**

**Chapter Three**

"Settle down!" the teacher exclaimed as she entered the noisy classroom. A paper dart landed at her feet and she looked up to find several students pointing to the dart's origin, Joey Wheeler. She let out a disappointed sigh and placed the dart into the waste bin.

Although a few of the students liked to play pranks from time to time and occasionally interrupt lessons she was thankful that they weren't violent like most of the classes she taught at her previous school. She was lucky to have been accepted for her current position as she was told that there are very rarely any vacancies at Domino high school, and that her job only became available as the previous teacher had been fired due to an 'unsatisfied student.' Well that's what the rumours where anyway.

Once the class had settled and she had their full attention, she began to teach her lesson. Everything was going smoothly as she taught algebra and answered questions and queries asked by the students, not all of them stayed on the subject. "And that is why you must never place your penis in a vacuum cleaner whilst it's switched on."

The class roared with laughter although there wasn't anyone in the room who could remember what it was that they had originally been talking about to reach this conclusion. "You say that like its okay to do it while it's off though!" a voice shouted from the back of the room and more laughter erupted.

"I don't think that you should do that either." She smiled in reply, not sure who it was that had made the comment. As she glanced around she witnessed many of the students as they stopped laughing and their gaze fixed in the direction of the classroom door to her left. She altered her own view too.

The door was wide open and in the doorway stood Kaiba. After the death of his brother, nobody had expected to see him return to school again so soon, if ever. Silence remained as Kaiba entered the room and made his way across to his empty desk.

"You shouldn't be here." The teacher broke the silence as she watched Kaiba set himself down in his seat. Swiftly she approached him and quietly spoke so that few students as possible could hear what she was saying. "According to the note from your doctor, you shouldn't return to classes until next week at the earliest."

"I'm fine." Kaiba replied bluntly. He hated the way that it seemed like everyone was poking their noses into his personal affairs. There was a cold tone to his voice and an angry look in his eyes as he added; "It's not the end of the world."

The teacher nodded slowly and returned to the front of the class to continue with the lesson whilst many of the students started to chat amongst themselves.

Yugi was turning round in his seat as he glanced behind him to where Kaiba sat a few seats back to his right. It wasn't long before he was met with a cold icy glare that told him to back off. Respecting Kaiba's wishes he turned back round to face forward again.

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Yugi crossed the school cafeteria and placed the tray containing his lunch onto the table next to Tea's. He looked across to where Kaiba sat by himself away from them. "I think one of us should go over there."

"But your grandpa said to let him come to us." Tea sighed as she pulled at Yugi's sleeve urging him to sit down.

"Besides, I don't think he'd listen to anything we'd have to say." Duke pointed out as he seated himself opposite Yugi.

"And how would that differ from usual?" Joey said through a mouth full of French fries. "Ow!" he complained as Tea kicked him underneath the table and sent him one of her angry glares.

"Too late." Tristan said as he sat sideways at the table end with his leg stretched out in front of him. "Looks like Bakura beat you to him." They all stared across to see that Bakura was standing opposite Kaiba as he sat staring at the untouched meal on his tray.

"Hi." Bakura said weakly. He wasn't expecting a reply but thought he'd get a little response from Kaiba who just seemed to stay frozen. "Mind if I sit here?" still there was no response. Very daringly he placed his tray on the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. "I understand what you're going through and just wanted you to know that…"

"Stop right there." Kaiba spoke coldly and raised his head to face Bakura. "There's no way you could possibly know what I'm going through." He pushed himself back and stood up. "But most of all, when will you people learn that I don't need your pity." He slammed the chair back under the table, causing it to topple over the drink on Bakura's tray, and walked away.

"There was no need for that!" Joey shouted from the top of his voice to Kaiba's back. He got up from his seat and was about to follow Kaiba when he heard Tea shouting at him.

"Will you stop using every tiny excuse to pick a fight with him!" she shouted as loud as she could at Joey.

"But he deserves it." Joey snapped back. "Mourning someone doesn't give anyone the right to treat others like dirt. He should be grateful that there's people out there who want to help him, but sometimes you have to be on the same wave length to get through to people like him."

The argument continued but Bakura wasn't paying much attention to the rest of what was being said as he mopped up the spilt water that covered the table and dripped on to his lap. Maybe Joey had a point after all and that Yugi and himself had been going about this the wrong way.

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The moment that the bell rang at the end of the school day, Kaiba left the building as fast as he could to avoid another show of pity from Yugi and his friend's. He reached the school gates expecting to find his limo waiting for him but it wasn't there. As he stood waiting he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Kaiba." Yugi sounded as though he had been running, or at least walking briskly. "I know that you're hurting inside but maybe if you talk to us….."

"I'm not listening." Kaiba said as he saw his limo round the corner and get held up by the school bus. Any moment now he would be able to finally escape.

"Please." Yugi pleaded almost on the verge of tears. "I hate seeing you like this."

"Save your breath Yugi, he's not worth it." Came a voice from behind him.

"Ow!" cried Joey as Tea instinctively hit him harder that what she had ever done before. "That wasn't me!"

Bakura appeared and pushed himself between Kaiba and Yugi. "None of us are trying to pity or feel sorry for you." He glared at Kaiba and spoke with a nasty tone of voice. "You're doing a pretty good job of that yourself. Yugi just wanted to help, which is surprising the way you've been treating him."

Yugi was surprised at Bakura's behaviour and looked to his friends who were equally surprised. The only time Bakura acted like this was when …..

"There's nothing round his neck." Tea told Yugi knowing just what he was thinking.

"Maybe Kaiba's reaction at lunchtime finally made Bakura decide to grow a pair." Joey laughed mainly to himself as he enjoyed watching someone speak to Kaiba this way.

"I too was willing to help you, but now I'm not going to." Bakura said as he watched Kaiba's gaze follow the limo that was about to pull up in front of them. "But I will still give you this advice. Grow up, stop acting like a child and get over it." He calmly stepped backwards and walked away.

Kaiba had heard every word Bakura had said which had made his blood boil. His cheeks were slightly flushed red from the anger as he stared after the white haired boy holding back the urge to beat him up or order his chauffer to run him down. He opened the limo door and got in closing it quickly before Yugi could start his speech all over again.

"What'd I tell ya?!" Joey laughed as the limo drove away. "Treat him the same as he acts and then you get a reaction."

"I think I missed the part were Kaiba opened up to us." Tea said sarcastically. "All that did was just anger him."

"I'd hate to be Bakura right now." Yugi frowned, watching him get onto the school bus before that too drove off.

"What do you think Kaiba will do to him?" Tea asked knowing that Bakura's safety was at risk for having spoken to Kaiba the way he had.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Please, just go home." Kaiba spoke in a pleasant tone to his maid as she refused to leave his mansion. If it had been anybody else he would have slammed the door in their face or raised his voice, but with her it was different. She was his longest serving employee and the only member of Gozaburo's house staff that he kept on. The only reason for this was for Mokuba's sake since he adored her to pieces with her kind heartedness and motherly behaviour. Over time Kaiba learnt to tolerate her over protectiveness of them both, and in a strange way it seemed like she had become a member of the family.

"But master Seto, I worry about you so." She argued, concerned about him and the tough time he had been put through recently. "If I'm not around to make sure you look after yourself then who will?" Without waiting for any kind of reply she poked Kaiba hard with a stubby finger and rambled on. "I haven't seen you eat anything this past week, it's no good for you to do this to yourself. A growing young man like you needs….."

"Ros, I just need a bit of time to myself." Kaiba addressed her by name, his tone of voice still gentle. Now he was met with a stern gaze from the old woman's wrinkled eyes. "It's only for a week, think of it as a vacation." She still continued to stare, and Kaiba made one last attempt to get rid of her. "Did I mention that it's paid vacation at triple your pay? And when you return you'll find your hours halved and pay increased by ten percent of what it is now." Damn, she didn't buy it. There was only one thing left to do. He'd seen Mokuba do it a thousand times whenever he was in a similar situation, and forced a smile on to his face.

It took a moment to take effect but Ros' face finally softened. "Okay." She sighed and pushed back her dark greying hair. "But you have to promise me you'll take good care of yourself."

"Promise." Kaiba replied dropping the smile. He watched her leave before he closed the door and let out a deep sigh. He felt awful lying to her about pay rises which he knew she would never get, but the shorter hours she would definitely receive.

Kaiba made his way to Mokuba's room and sat down in front of the broken picture frame that still lay in the same spot were it had fallen the night before. He looked down at the skewered photo and longed to be with his brother. His life didn't matter now that he had nothing to live for and no number of pills that the doctor prescribed him would ever change that fact. Placing his hand into his pocket he pulled out a medicine bottle containing the pills that the doctor had given him and stared at it for a moment. There was a sharp pain in his stomach as it rumbled from the hunger of not having eaten for days and Kaiba finally decided that he couldn't resist the temptation to eat any longer. He placed the medicine bottle back into his pocket and made his way down to the kitchen in search of food.

The refrigerator didn't contain a lot and what ingredients were there Kaiba was sure it could somehow make a meal. The trouble was he didn't know how or what to do with them. He closed the door and spotted several takeaway flyers pinned onto the refrigerator with brightly coloured magnets. Mokuba loved to have takeaway food even though Kaiba despised the stuff, but now he was so hungry he could just about eat anything. He took one of the flyers and dialled the phone number.

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Another shift ended as Bakura took off his brightly coloured jacket and hung it up on the peg in his locker. He was glad that work was over for the night so that he could go home as he still had assignments to do for school the next day. Rubbing his eyes he yawned. He was tired and exhausted from the continuous loop of school and work but knew that he needed to keep going. He made his way out of the locker room and into the pizza parlour and was about to exit the front door when his boss called out to him.

"Oi, 'Kura!" His boss held a pizza box out in front of him. "Deliver this."

"But my shift just finished." Bakura protested pointing to the clock which said eleven o' five.

"You can deliver it on your way home then can't you?" the boss glared at Bakura and waited for him to take the pizza.

Reluctantly Bakura took the pizza from his boss and read the address from the label. "You've got to be kidding me." He moaned under his breath.

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Bakura stopped his moped at the gates of Kaiba's mansion and stared down the drive which led all the way up to the front door. His heart pounded hard in his chest as he thought about what he had done earlier at the school. Back then he had felt nauseous at speaking the way he had to Kaiba, but now he was felting ten times worst as he dreaded to think what might happen to him as Kaiba was surely going to seek revenge.

After building up the courage he finally drove his moped down the drive and parked up right outside of the mansion. He had second thoughts about removing his helmet as it would hide his face from Kaiba and offer his head protection if he found himself under attack, but decided to remove it anyway and grabbed the pizza.

The doorbell sounded as he nervously pushed the button and waited for the door to be answered. As the key turned in the lock, Bakura braced himself for whatever might happen and found himself face to face with Kaiba.

"You." Sneered Kaiba as he caught sight of Bakura standing in front of him. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to deliver this." Bakura thrust the pizza at Kaiba, his heart pounding as though it was about to explode. He knew that Kaiba wasn't the type to accept an apology but thought he would say sorry for earlier. "And while I'm here, I apologise for my outburst earlier."

"Do you really think that I take notice from someone with schizophrenia?" Kaiba retorted recalling the anger he had felt.

Feeling hurt from being called a schizophrenic, Bakura began to relax a little as it seemed Kaiba wasn't going to have his revenge here and now. He offered the pizza again which was accepted and was surprised to see Kaiba open the door wider for him to enter.

"Stay here whilst I get the money you're owed for this." Kaiba ordered and walked away into a room directly opposite them at the far end of the hall.

Bakura took the chance to look around the huge hall which led off into many rooms. The staircase was one of the grandest he'd ever seen and hanging down from the ceiling was a sparkling crystal chandelier. He took a step backwards to admire the chandelier and almost lost his balance as he stepped on something. Bending down he reached out and picked up an empty medicine bottle. He turned it to examine the label and saw that the pills had recently been prescribed to Kaiba and that they were to be taken twice daily. If that was the case then there was only one reason why the bottle could be empty, Kaiba must be going through an emotional state that he too had felt in the past.

The sound of Kaiba's re-approaching footsteps could be heard and Bakura quickly stood up to face him. "I found these." He said holding the tiny bottle in his hand.

"Thanks, I've been looking of those." Kaiba was swift to take the bottle from Bakura and handed over the money for the pizza.

"I couldn't help but notice that they were recently prescribed." Bakura said as he placed the money in to his wallet.

"Losing my brother hasn't been easy for me." Kaiba admitted. "People seem to forget that I'm only human too."

"Nobody's forgotten that, you just don't let people help you." Bakura pointed out. He felt his heart pound from nerves as he was about to address Kaiba's state of mind. "I know that you're feeling suicidal."

"Suicidal?" Kaiba laughed.

"The bottle's empty." Bakura stated. "And because of all that's happened over the last week or so, I suspect that you've taken an overdose as your way of coping with the situation." There was no reply and unlike his usual self Kaiba glanced away not wanting to make eye contact. "Please let me help you."

There was an eerie silence for a moment before Kaiba spoke, still looking away. "Nothing you can say will change my mind about how I feel. In a few hours it'll be too late anyway."

Bakura was surprised at just how easily Kaiba had opened up considering that he never spoke about anything concerning his feelings to anyone else. For a brief moment he could relate to how messed up Kaiba's head must be for him to act out of the ordinary and then he had an idea. An almost sly smile crept across his face. "Why wait a few hours when I can help you get the job done quicker? Just show me where your kitchen is."

"If you're intending to use blades to speed up the process then I recommend that you make sure that you don't leave any evidence laying around if you don't want to be charged with murder." Kaiba told Bakura as he led the way to his kitchen. He had though of using blades himself but couldn't quite find the strength inside to go ahead with it.

"I had something else planned." Bakura replied pulling open cupboards. He hoped that Kaiba wasn't his usual intelligent self so that his plan would be able to succeed. "If you look at the components used to make your medication and know which other components that can be used as a catalyst for said component, most of which are every day items that you can find in the kitchen, then you can knock up a rather lethal cocktail that will surely have you dead within the hour." _Did that work?_ He quickly glanced at Kaiba who was looking slightly confused. _I'll take that as a yes._

For the next couple of minutes Bakura took whatever ingredients he could find and added them to a blender ready to be pureed together. He hadn't kept track of everything but knew that lemon juice, soy sauce, peanut butter, foie gras, mustard, garlic, soured cream and eggs were amongst some of the things he had used. The blender whizzed around mixing everything together and then he transferred it in to a tall glass.

"Bottoms up!" Bakura smiled as he placed the glass in front of the bemused Kaiba and then added: "You might what to hold your nose and knock it back as fast as you can."

Kaiba picked up the glass and looked at the greeny-brown liquid which smelt horrific. Not only did he take Bakura's advice and hold his nose but also closed his eyes as he gulped it back. "That is the most discussing thing that I have ever tasted!" he exclaimed setting the empty glass down. "Are you sure it will work?"

"It'll work." Bakura smiled, his plan was going well so far. "So what made you decide that suicide was the answer?" There was no reply from Kaiba. "You're going to be dead within the hour so what harm could it do to share your feelings for once? It's not like I'm going to rush out and tell everybody, and even if I did who'd believe a schizo like me?" He smiled again hoping it would encourage Kaiba to open up.

"Do you know what it's like to lose a loved one?" Kaiba asked as he twisted the glass around on the counter. He saw Bakura nod and continued. "Multiply that feeling by each of your family members until there is only you left. Each of them had given you a purpose and reason for living but now there isn't anything left to live for."

"What about Yugi and the others?" Bakura asked. "Even though you don't seem to notice it they're your friends and are willing to be there for you like any family member."

Kaiba pushed the glass away from him. "You still don't grasp the fact that I don't do 'friends'. Besides I think that the word …." He stopped mid sentence as he felt his stomach whirl and waited for it to settle again. "The word 'friend' is greatly over rated." He felt his stomach whirl again and his checks began to water. Quickly he left the kitchen as his stomach was about to erupt its contents.

Bakura let out a sigh of relief as he was wondering just how long it was going to take for his plan to be completed. He followed the sound of vomiting to the bathroom that Kaiba had rushed to. Outside the closed door he spoke to Kaiba. "A friend is someone who's always there for you even when you're feeling your lowest. You don't pay them to be there and most of the time you don't even ask for them." The vomiting stopped. "How do you think they'd feel if you were gone? Not to mention the millions of other people your death would effect. A lot of duellists still admire and look up to you, and then there's your company's clients, customers, employees and their families. Where would they be without you?"

There was a long pause and moment of silence before Bakura spoke again. By now he was sat on the floor with his back leaning against the wall to the side of the door. "I'm sorry that I made up that drink to cause you to vomit, but someone had to make you see sense during this hard time in your life." There was another long period of silence. "Kaiba?"

Concerned, Bakura got up and entered the bathroom to see Kaiba kneeing on the floor in front of the toilet. His arm was leaning against the toilet rim with his head resting on top of it, eyes closed. Bakura checked to make sure that Kaiba was just sleeping and that he hadn't choked on his own vomit. "You'll feel a lot better in the morning." He smiled softly.

The time on Bakura's watch was close approaching midnight and he was very tired by now. He yawned and frowned at the thought of still having his assignment to do, but he couldn't leave Kaiba alone in the state he was in. He sat back down outside the bathroom and waited for Kaiba to wake up. Surely he couldn't sleep for long in that position? Resting his head against the wall again it wasn't long before Bakura too fell fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Kaiba's limo pulled up outside of Bakura's house the next morning. On the back seat Kaiba sat dressed in his school uniform and Bakura still wore the clothes which he had been wearing last night. Neither of them had spoken a word to each other during the whole journey from Kaiba's mansion.

Bakura reached for the door handle and broke the silence. "Thanks for the lift."

"You tell anybody about what happened last night and I'll make sure that your life's not worth living." Kaiba hissed as he glared threateningly at Bakura.

"I understand." Bakura gulped and nodded before he exited the limo which quickly drove off once the door had been closed. He opened his front door and walked in to be met with the site of a note taped to one of the walls.

The note was a reminder from his landlord that overdue bills still needed to be paid and that if he failed to do so further action would be taken. _You'll have your money as soon as I get paid again. _He thought to himself but also knew that his pay wouldn't pay off the whole debt. He placed the note on to a nearby table and collected his things ready for school.

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English lesson was nearly over and the male teacher had finished marking his students' assignments. He stood up and addressed the class in his strict tone that he always spoke in no matter who he was talking to. "I've marked last night's assignments and two of you have failed to hand them in."

Joey found himself met with the stares from most of the class including Tristan who sat in front of him. "What?!" he exclaimed. "I swear that I handed mine in."

"Yes." Came a rough sounding reply from the teacher. "For once I have yours here Wheeler."

"See." Joey exclaimed smugly.

"Kaiba!" the teacher's voice sounded throughout the room as he glared at Kaiba who sat unfazed glaring back. "I know that you are dealing with the loss of your brother, but since you have decided to return back to school, then you will be treated like any other student and expected to meet the same deadlines."

Teacher and student glared back coldly at one and other before the teacher caved. "I'm going to extend your deadline, but just this once." He stepped to the right of Kaiba and approached Bakura who was franticly writing away. "But you, I expected better of!"

Terrified at being in trouble with his teacher Bakura stopped writing. "I er ….. I had to ….. Something came up last night that I couldn't avoid." He stuttered.

"Spare me the excuses!" he teacher snorted. "I'm very disappointed in you."

"It's not an excuse!" Bakura protested loudly his voice then trailed off into a whisper. "I helped a friend last night."

"Enough!" roared the teacher at being spoken back to. He slammed his fist down on Bakura's desk making him and several other students jump. "You will face the consequences just like anyone else!"

"Anyone accept Kaiba that is." Joey said thinking out loud.

"You have something to say Mister Wheeler?" the teacher turned on Joey.

"Actually I do." Joey stood up to confront the teacher. "It's the first time that either of them has failed to hand in work and yet you're treating them differently."

"Their circumstances are quite different." The teacher assured his student who had been brave enough to talk back to him as though they were equals.

"Not there not." Joey argued. "The only reason you're taking it out on Bakura is because you know that he won't argue back or threaten you with the loss of your job."

The room started to hum with the murmur from students as they hadn't seen anyone stand up to their English teacher like Joey was. Bakura looked terrified at the whole ordeal and Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Joey for involving him in the argument.

A nerve began to twitch on the teacher's forehead from the anger that was building up inside him. He was appalled at the way he was being spoken to. "Unless you want to be doing mop duty until you graduate, I suggest that you refrain yourself from continuing with this dispute."

"Joey, sit down." Tristan whispered to his friend who looked like he wasn't about to back down. "There's nothing else you can do." Slowly Joey sat back down in his seat.

A smug triumphant smile nearly appeared on the teacher's face before he rounded on Bakura again. "Detention for you!" He slammed his fist on Bakura's desk again and liked before Bakura jumped in his seat. The teacher took hold of the almost completed assignment that lay in front of Bakura and ripped it up in to little pieces. "Let that be a lesson to you that you shouldn't socialize with friends when you have school work to do."

Bakura fought back the urge to cry as the teacher made his way back to the front of the class. He had worked hard to try and finish the assignment hoping that it would be accepted at the end of the lesson, and now he had to start all over again.

"He didn't deserve that!" came a nasty cold tone of voice. Everybody in the room turned to see that it was Kaiba who had spoken, all of whom were surprised. "The reason his work was unfinished is because he was informing me of all the work I've missed since my brother's death. I think it only fair that his deadline be extended too."

The teacher wasn't about to take any advice from one of his students, but this wasn't just any student. Kaiba had previously managed to get several teachers sacked because they had crossed his path at some point. He couldn't let that happen to him, he needed his job and so spoke directly to Bakura; "You have until tomorrow to hand in your assignment."

Amazed by what Kaiba had just done Bakura couldn't help but stare open mouthed at him. Once he realized that his mouth was gapping open he quickly closed it and nodded to show his thanks to Kaiba who just glanced back with an almost friendly face.

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The school day was finally over and Bakura was just finishing using his cell phone. He had called his work place to let them know that he would not be working tonight. He didn't give a reason and couldn't afford to take the time off, but he had to get that assignment completed on top of that night's homework too, not forgetting the fact that his moped was still round at Kaiba's. He sighed as he exited the school gates, a horn beeped and he turned to see Kaiba's limo pull up beside him. The door opened and Kaiba ordered, "Get in!"

Bakura did as he was told and seated himself next to Kaiba in the back of the limo. "Thank you again for earlier." He said as the limo drove off.

"Don't mention it." Kaiba replied in a deadpan tone. "I want your moped removed from my drive, it looks unsightly outside my mansion."

"Of course, I hadn't forgotten." Bakura replied nervously.

"Good." There was a pause before Kaiba's tone lightened and became friendly. "But before you do, you might as well get a start on that assignment whilst I take notes on the work I've missed."

A slight smile appeared on Kaiba's face which Bakura mimicked and returned. Just days, heck even hours, ago who would have guessed that the two of them would be friendly towards each other? Bakura was beginning to think that Kaiba wasn't as bad as everyone made out, and Kaiba now didn't think that Bakura was a crazy schizo like he had first thought. Maybe the two of them could become friends after all?

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Papers and books were sprawled out all over the dining room table. Kaiba was busy copy the notes from Bakura's work, whilst Bakura himself had just finished his overdue assignment. He set his pen down whilst he flexed his fingers and heard his stomach rumble. "Would it be okay if I made myself a bite to eat?" Bakura asked rather embarrassed at the noise his stomach had just made.

"Go ahead." Kaiba said as he continued to write, not looking up from the papers in front of him. "But be warned that my maid is on vacation, so the kitchen is in the same condition as you found it last night." Bakura disappeared into the kitchen leaving Kaiba alone at the table to finish the work he was doing.

Once the notes were complete it didn't take Kaiba long to do his overdue assignment either. He was about to carry on and complete the homework that had been set for them that night when he too felt his stomach rumble. Abandoning the schoolwork he made his way to the kitchen.

"Smells like you succeeded in finding something to eat." Kaiba said sniffing to air as he entered the kitchen. He seated himself at the breakfast bar and watched as Bakura hurried about.

"I've made enough for the both of us." Bakura shouted over his shoulder as he was busy serving up the food onto plates. He brought both plates across to were Kaiba sat and placed them down before he too sat down opposite him. "Steak and chips!"

Kaiba stared down at the food on his plate. "Those are obese fries, not chips." He told Bakura.

"Well if you don't want it." Bakura laughed at the fact that Kaiba was playfully poking fun at his British-ness and reached out to pull the plate away from him.

Like an animal guiding its food Kaiba pinned Bakura's hand on to the counter. "That's not necessary." For a brief moment they both looked at each other before he released his grip as he saw Bakura brake eye contact with him. "Do you cook your own meals often?"

"All the time." Bakura nodded not looking back at Kaiba. "I have to since its just me on my own."

Kaiba stopped eating his food. He had no idea that Bakura lived on his own. "How long have you been living by yourself?"

Bakura hesitated before he answered in a quiet voice, still not looking at Kaiba. "My mother and sister died in a car accident when I lived back in England. It wasn't long after moving to Domino that my father left on an excavation to Egypt and I haven't heard from him since. There are that many excavation cave-ins in the Valley of the Kings that the Egyptian authorities don't bother trying to recover and identify the dead."

Now Kaiba understood why Bakura had tried so hard to help him. Bakura was in the same situation of having no family and really did know the kind of pain and heartache he was facing. "I wouldn't have asked if I had known."

"Nobody knows." Bakura said raising his head. It was finally out after so long of keeping it to himself somebody else knew just what he was going through. Scared that he could feel his emotions building up inside him ready to escape he got to his feet. "I have to go."

Not wanting him to leave Kaiba watched as Bakura passed him. He had thought about grabbing him as he passed but decided against it, as it would probably only freak Bakura out. "Bakura!" Kaiba called just as he was about to leave the kitchen. He turned in his seat to face him. "I use to think that you were as pathetic as Yugi and his happy little care-free gang, but I was wrong. You kept something like this from them, your friends, for the whole time you've known them and dealt with it by yourself." He took a deep breathe before he added, "I admire you for being so strong."

Bakura had stopped to listen to what Kaiba had to say, his eyes watery part from holding back his emotions and part from what he had just heard. A trembling smile crossed his face for a brief moment. "It's not like I kept it from them, they just never took the time to …… They didn't even notice…………..Friends are suppose to……..." He struggled to keep back his feelings as tears leaked from his eyes.

"That's just one of the reasons I don't have friends." Kaiba sighed, what he had first thought was bothering Bakura looked even less so as the boy seemed to care more about his friends who weren't there for him. Come to think of it he hadn't seen Bakura hang out with Yugi like the others did. "With no friends I can't get hurt like you have been."

There now didn't seem to be any kind of emotion in Kaiba's voice. Bakura clearly took that as a sign that it was time for him to gather his things and leave like he was about to before he had stopped. After the way that the two of them had been getting on that evening he was very disappointed that Kaiba hadn't turned out to be the friend that he wanted so badly. Maybe he had hoped for too much by thinking that Kaiba would have stopped him from leaving.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

As the next couple of weeks passed Kaiba and Bakura carried on with their lives. Kaiba's negligence to his company since his brother's death had caused it to lose clients and business so he spent much of his time getting it back on track, and the empty promises he had made to his maid he did indeed keep as he never went back on his word, even if it hadn't been true at the time. Bakura continued to work non-stop in his job and at school leaving him feeling tired and run down, even more so than before, as he worked as much overtime as was possible in order to try and pay off his growing debts. Neither of them spoke another word about the very brief friendship that they had had over those couple of days, but both of them felt stronger inside now that some else knew about the heartache they were feeling, and knowing that they were no longer alone to cope with it by themselves.

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Friday, and the first lesson after lunch the students chatted amongst themselves as they waited for their teacher to arrive. Tea turned round to face Yugi whilst Joey and Tristan leaned across to take part in the conversation. "I got the tickets for the new Miyazaki film next week." Tea announced.

"Next week?!" Joey exclaimed. "I can't make next week." The others looked at him. "I have detention every night until the end of the semester." He admitted quietly.

"When did this happen?" Yugi asked, just as surprised as Tea and Tristan.

"This morning after the prank I pulled in gym class." Joey admitted and saw Tristan snigger at the memory.

"What did you do?" Asked Yugi who hadn't been in the same class as his two friends.

"You're better off not knowing." Joey smiled weakly and began to turn red.

"Great." muttered Tea. "Now I'm stuck with a ticket that's of no use to us."

"Hey guys!" Bakura smiled at them from further back across the room. "I couldn't help over hearing that you mentioned Miyazaki."

"Do you like his films?" Yugi asked, considering to himself about asking if Bakura would like to come in Joey's place.

"I do." Bakura replied happily. "I love anime."

"Hey Duke!" Tea called to him as he entered the room. "You free next weekend to catch a film with us lot."

"Sure." Smiled Duke in reply as he headed to his seat at the very back of the room.

Bakura's face dropped a little as Yugi returned to talking with the others and arranging a time and place for them to met up after school next week. It would have been nice for once if he was included with them outside of school hours. He sighed and continued to add to his notes for a previous lesson; he probably would have been too busy working anyway.

Despite having his nose buried in a book, Kaiba had heard the whole conversation and witnessed the cruel rejection that Bakura had received from trying to include himself into Yugi's little group. Part of him felt sorry for Bakura but he mainly felt that he deserved the rejection for being so desperate to be included with them.

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Kaiba had only spent two hours that night at his company's building before he headed home. He was keeping to his new routine of not overworking himself too hard like he had done in the past. If only Mokuba were still alive so that they could spend valuable time together. But he wasn't and there wasn't anything that he could do to change that fact.

Glancing out of his chauffeured limo Kaiba spotted Bakura by the side of the road. The old rusty moped Bakura rode was lying on the ground with steam, or perhaps it was smoke, coming out of it. Kaiba ordered for the limo to stop. "Looks like you could use some help." He smiled through his open window.

"A miracle is what I need." Bakura muttered and kicked the moped in frustration.

"Get in." Kaiba laughed at the sight of seeing Bakura hop on one leg after hurting himself from the kick he had just given the moped. "Where do you need to go?"

"Nowhere now." Bakura sighed as he got into the limo and closed the door. He had already called his workplace and told them that he was unable to make it into work that night.

"In that case how about...?" Kaiba trailed off the question he was about to ask and started again differently. "I heard you mention earlier that you like anime?"

"Yeah." Bakura nodded a little surprised at the question. "Do you?"

"No." Kaiba replied bluntly. "Cartoons are for children and the easily entertained."

"Oh." Bakura said and quietly looked out of the window. He kept control of himself not to go into a speech about how wrong Kaiba was to think that way about anime, as he knew that it wouldn't achieve anything.

"To tell you the truth, I've never really watched and paid that much attention to any of them." Kaiba admitted. "Mokuba loved anime." He sighed at the mention of his brother.

Bakura turned his attention back to Kaiba and wondered if he wanted to talk about something that may have been bothering him but instead Kaiba just smiled and said; "If you want to stop by we could see what he had in his collection."

A smile appeared on Bakura's face from the friendly invitation that Kaiba had made. "That would be great."

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Mokuba had had his own cinema room which was located on the first floor of the Kaiba mansion. In the room the walls were lined with shelves containing many videos and DVDs and a huge screen almost covered one wall entirely on its own. A huge comfy couch curled round in a semi circle which dipped slightly into the floor and there was even an area were snacks of all kinds could be stored.

"So what kind of anime do you feel like watching?" Bakura asked as he scanned the titles that were on the shelves.

"What does it matter?" Kaiba replied. "They're all the same, brightly coloured, simple plots with happy ever after endings."

"Oh no, anime isn't like that at all." Bakura couldn't help himself, he knew it probably wouldn't do any good but he had to put Kaiba right on his views towards anime. "First of all, just because its animation doesn't always mean that it's for children. Some series can have very complicated plots with characters that can be just as complex as …….."

"Please Ryou, I don't need a lecture about the whole thing." Kaiba rubbed his head as though he felt a headache coming on and saw Bakura beaming back at him with a huge grin. "What?"

"You just called me by my first name." Bakura said happily.

"Slip of the tongue." Kaiba insisted. Why did he have to make a big fuss about it? "It's no big deal."

"Maybe not to you, but to me …." Bakura couldn't finish his sentence as the smile on his face seemed to broaden even more. "Nobody has called me by my first name for years."

"Like I said, it's no big deal." Kaiba said feeling his checks begin to burn and turned away.

"Oh but it is." Bakura kept on talking. "Going by surnames are a fine way of showing pride from our family backgrounds but it's our forenames that give us our individuality."

"I lost my name, my honourable name, a long time ago." Kaiba spoke quietly as though to only himself. He hated going by the name of Kaiba as it always served as a reminder of what his stepfather had done to change him. He turned to see Bakura looking puzzled which told him that he had heard the comment that had softly escaped from his lips.

"Mokuba and I were orphaned at a young age and adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba." He began to explain. Kaiba would never have imagined himself talking freely about his past, but with Bakura it seemed to come easily for him to say. "He was an extremely strict man who always pushed me to, and sometimes beyond my limits, with harsh punishments for failure. I had focused so hard on forcing myself to overcome his expectations that I forgot a lot of memories that were very dear to me, including my original surname." He closed his eyes and painfully remembered the time when Mokuba had asked him what their surname had been before the adoption. It had only been just a few weeks into living with Gozaburo.

Bakura now wished that he hadn't gone on about the importance of names as could see that Kaiba was clearly emotionally scarred. Maybe he could help him; "The orphanage should have records of all the children who were ever there so you could check ……."

"I tried!" Kaiba snapped angrily opening his eyes. He calmed his tone down realising that Bakura thought he may have been helping with the suggestion. "The place burnt down not long after we were adopted, destroying all its records along with it. I knew that _'he' _was the one behind it all even though I couldn't prove it."

"But why would he do such a thing?" Bakura asked not understanding the kind of relationship that Kaiba had had with his stepfather.

"Payback!" Kaiba simply replied taking a DVD from the shelf. "He even had my mother's grave moved just so he could mess with my head." He thrust the DVD at Bakura. "What about this one?"

Bakura accepted the DVD and the fact that this was Kaiba's way of ending the conversation. He looked down at the DVD in his hands and sighed shaking his head. He didn't think that 'X' was the kind of thing they should be watching at that moment in time. Kaiba just shrugged and handed him another. Again Bakura shook his head at seeing 'Perfect Blue' held out to him, forcing Kaiba to choose yet another. "Didn't you check the content of these before you let Mokuba watch them?!" He exclaimed as he placed Kaiba's third DVD, 'Legend of the Overfiend' back on to the shelf.

Not saying anything in return but clearly annoyed and frustrated Kaiba stormed across to the couch and sank down onto it leaving Bakura alone to choose whatever he wanted.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

After watching anime in to the early hours and falling asleep Bakura awoke the next morning in the cinema room to find Kaiba already awake. Carefully Kaiba tied a blindfold around Bakura's head and explained that he had a surprise waiting for him downstairs. Slowly Kaiba led Bakura through the corridor and down the stairs of his mansion towards the front door.

"Is this really necessary?" Bakura asked as he tripped on the bottom step and was caught and steadied back to his feet by Kaiba.

"Not really." Kaiba replied and let go of Bakura's arm to open the door. He led Bakura a little closer and untied the blindfold. "This is for you."

As the blindfold came away Bakura regained his vision and there in front of him on Kaiba's drive he saw a brand new state of the art moped. Its chrome finish glistened in the sunlight and Bakura found himself lost for words.

"It's to replace that rust heap you abandoned yesterday." Kaiba told Bakura at seeing him speechless. "You fell asleep before I did last night so I took the time to arrange to have it delivered here first thing this morning."

"It's very kind of you but I can't accept this." Bakura said shaking his head. "It must have cost a fortune and I don't deserve it."

"Don't worry about how much it costs." Kaiba laughed and then made his tone more serious as he looked at Bakura. "You've helped me a lot these past couple of months. Without you I wouldn't even be here today. This is my way of saying thanks." He smiled: "From one friend to another."

The smile was reflected back on Bakura's face. "Thank you, Seto." He approached his new moped and ran his hand over it. Nobody had ever given him any kind of gift in years, and yet here he was with one of the people he thought he'd be least likely to befriend ever and ……….. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm sounded on Bakura's watch telling him that it was time to get up and ready for work. He turned to Kaiba. "This is going to sound really awful, but I can't stay as I have to work today."

"That's fine." Kaiba smiled although slightly disappointed that his friend would be leaving so soon. At least being busy with his company would take his mind off things. "I have things to do myself."

"I'll see you at school on Monday." Bakura said before he climbed on to the moped and drove off leaving Kaiba standing alone.

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There was a knock at the front door as Bakura franticly rushed around to change and get himself ready for work. Struggling to fasten up his shirt he ran down the stairs and opened the door to find two largely built men standing there. "Are you the tenant, Bakura?" one of the men asked referring to a piece of paper.

"Yes." Bakura replied nervously.

"We're here on behalf of your landlord to collect the outstanding debt that you owe." The man turned the paper round so that Bakura could clearly see the instructions issued to the debt collectors.

"But I haven't got the money." Bakura told them, panicking at the thought of what they might do next.

"Then we'll have to repossess any items of value that you have." The first man informed him whilst the second cracked his knuckles ready to start work.

Feeling intimidated by the two men Bakura stood to one side and let them in. He watched as they searched his house from top to bottom and carried out almost all of the contents of his home, biting his lip to hold back his emotions and stop himself from crying at the fact he had no control over what was happening.

"Is that yours too?" The first man asked Bakura as he pointed over to where the moped stood outside the house.

For a moment he was tempted to say 'no' but then Bakura found himself sandwiched between the two men as the second approached him from behind. "Yes." He muttered weakly and then added, "But I need it for work purposes."

"That's not our problem." The debt collector held his hand out and waited for Bakura to hand over the keys. The cracking of knuckles from his partner prompted Bakura to swiftly cooperate.

Bakura helplessly watched as the keys were handed to the second man and his brand new moped wheeled away into the back of a large van. A gift from who he considered to be his best friend. How was he ever going to explain what had happened to Kaiba?

"Lets see." The first man spoke aloud as he scribbled on a piece of paper in his pad. "Altogether your possessions clear half of what you owe ….."

"Surely not!" Bakura interrupted. "That moped cost a small fortune!"

"_You_, may have paid that for it but these things lose their value rapidly these days." Sneered the man as he handed Bakura the paper he had been writing on. "Here's the receipt for what you still owe, plus the fee for our services and …." He reached in to his jacket inside pocket and pulled out an envelope. ".. an eviction notice from your landlord. Have a nice life." he turned and left.

As the van drove off Bakura closed the door, threw his back against it and slowly slid down until he reached the floor. He couldn't believe that they had taken nearly everything that he owned. As he opened the envelope and saw that his landlord wanted him out of the house the next day his cell phone rang in his pocket. "Hello?" Bakura answered still staring at his notice.

"Where the hell are you?" The angry voice of his boss came down the line.

"Something came up and I'm afraid that I can't make it today." Bakura's voice began to wobble.

"Forget it kid, you've become too unreliable. You're fired!" his now ex-boss hung up on him.

Bakura placed his cell phone on the floor, brought his knees up so that he could wrap his arms around and place his head on them and began to cry.

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Kaiba looked up from his computer as the door to his mansion office slowly opened and saw Ros poke her head through. "You have a visitor, sir." She said and opened the door farther to reveal Bakura standing beside her.

He nodded for her to let Bakura enter before she disappeared back to her duties. "I thought you were working?" he said puzzled as he looked at the clock to find that it was only mid afternoon.

"Not anymore." Bakura spoke quietly as he sat down on the couch in Kaiba's office. His face was still red from all the crying he had done hours earlier.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba asked seeing Bakura in the state he was in.

"I owe my landlord some money and since I don't have it he sent the debt collectors round." Bakura began to explain as he stared down towards his feet. "They took my possessions, including the moped you gave me, and they didn't even clear my debt. Then they handed me an eviction notice which states that I have to be out of there by tomorrow evening, and to top it all my boss fired me."

"Don't worry I'll sort this out for you." Kaiba told his friend but not sure what would be the best thing to say to make him believe that. The loss of the moped didn't even bother him as long as his friend was alright. He took his chequebook from out his pocket and opened it up. "How much do you owe?" he held his pen ready waiting for an answer but there wasn't one. "Ryou?" Kaiba looked across to see tears falling from Bakura's eyes.

"I can't take it anymore." Bakura whimpered and screwed his whole face up as he cried; "I just want a normal life."

_Don't we all. _Kaiba thought sarcastically to himself. He watched Bakura cry and felt the urge to comfort him just like he had done for Mokuba whenever he had been upset. "It'll be okay." He said as he left his desk and crouched down in front of Bakura who by this time had tears dripping from the end of the mucus that hung from his nose. The comforting smile and pat on the shoulder that Kaiba gave Bakura only seemed to make him cry harder. Not bearing to be able to see his friend this way and wanting to do anything that would make the pain stop, Kaiba pulled Bakura close to him in an embrace and once again assured him. "It'll be okay."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary has been changed and now states that this is a SetoXRyou fic.  
Big thanks to those who have been reading with extra thanks for those of you who have taken the time to leave a review.  
And ... I still own no rights to Yugioh!****  
**

**Chapter Eight**

The next morning Bakura woke up in one of the guest rooms at Kaiba's mansion. It wasn't long before he got out of bed, made his way downstairs and entered the dining room where Kaiba sat at the table reading a newspaper and drinking coffee.

"Sleep well?" Kaiba asked still focusing on the text in front of him.

"Not bad, considering the day I had yesterday." Bakura replied and sat down beside Kaiba. He was very grateful that Kaiba had listened to his problems last night and that he had agreed to help him sort things out.

"I've been thinking about last night." Kaiba spoke as he folded his newspaper and placed it flat on the table. "Why don't you move in here?"

"I can't do that." Bakura said shaking his head.

"Why not?" Kaiba felt slightly hurt by the way that his offer was rejected so quickly. "There's more than enough room and you wouldn't have to worry about working just to pay bills. So then you'll have more free time to yourself and won't feel so stressed and worn out all the time."

"But..." Bakura started to protest. Kaiba did have a point but he didn't want to burden his friend with looking after him too.

"What could be better than living with a friend?" Kaiba smiled warmly assuring Bakura that it was okay for him to accept the invitation.

"Thank you." Bakura smiled back. The only time someone had looked out for him was when the spirit of the millennium ring made sure that no harm came to his host for his own selfish reasons. He shuddered as some of the memories started to come back to him but knew that that part of his life was in the past and that the millennium ring was long gone. "But you have to agree to let me take a job to help pay my way." He told Kaiba.

Kaiba nodded in agreement even though the money aspect hadn't crossed his mind. "Why don't you come with me to work today?"

"You work on a Sunday?" Bakura was surprised that Kaiba spent his weekends working.

"I had a meeting already scheduled." Kaiba explained. "But since you're moving in I won't arrange to work anymore weekends, besides the company I'm dealing with might just have the job you're looking for."

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Kaiba Corp was about to unleash its first ever games console. When it came down to past experience in that field Kaiba's company had none, but he knew that he would easily beat the competition as his consoles were guarantied to be at least twice the power of the current models by the three main competitors. The meeting that was scheduled that morning was with one of the smaller software companies that Kaiba had a contract with to supply him with exclusive games and rights for his company's console.

In his first meeting with them, Kaiba had been so impressed with that he agreed to let them use his company's technology straight away to produce the game demos that were to be produced for today's meeting. The end result of what was presented before him lived up to his every expectation that he had. It had been previously mentioned that the game company was always on the look out for seeking new talented and skilled staff, which was why Kaiba had put forward Bakura as a possible candidate for them.

For the past hour they had been interviewing Bakura and now Kaiba was starting to think that maybe it hadn't been a good idea after all. Nervously Kaiba began to pace his office. His intentions had been to help his friend but now that he'd thought about it, Bakura didn't stand a chance at succeeding. Who in their right mind would employ someone with no résumé and who was clearly unprepared for an interview? He certainly wouldn't. There was a flutter in his stomach as he thought about Bakura.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that a painting hanging on his wall was slightly at the wrong angle. He straightened it and smiled as he remembered that it had been a gift for his last birthday from Mokuba. The painting itself he hated but the fact that his brother had bought it for him was the reason he kept it in his office. He laughed to himself at the thought that maybe Mokuba had known that he hated it and that was his brother's reason for giving it to him in the hope that he'd hate it so much that he'd spend less time working if he had to look at it constantly.

The fond memories of his brother began to fade as the reality of what had happened just a couple of months back came rushing back to Kaiba's mind. He missed Mokuba dearly but now knew that life had to go on without him. It had been Bakura who had made him see this fact and he owed him a lot for doing so. There was another flutter in his stomach.

Why did he keep getting these feelings every time he thought about Bakura? Was this what it was like to have friends? No, he had had friends before in his life, he wasn't always a loner. But it had been so long ago since he had been at the orphanage, not to mention the fact that he had also been a lot younger, so how could he be sure that he hadn't forgotten what it felt like? Kaiba had forgotten so many other things but he was sure that something like friendship wasn't the kind of thing that could be forgotten easily. He rolled his eyes at the thought that he was now starting to sound like Tea.

The only person Kaiba had truly cared about had been Mokuba but over the past couple of days he'd found himself caring for his friend just as much, maybe even more. How could it be possible for him to feel this way about someone who wasn't his brother? A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. "Enter." He said and felt his heart skip a beat as Bakura entered his office. Curiously he asked; "How did it go?"

"Okay I suppose." Bakura shrugged as he walked over to Kaiba but failing to hide his excitement as a smile appeared on his face. "They've given me a job in the art department doing scenery and backgrounds."

"That's great news." Kaiba replied surprised but happy that his friend had succeeded so well. "When do you start?"

"As soon as the semester has finished." Bakura answered the question asked. "Thank you so much for getting them to agree to interview me at such short notice. I never thought that I'd be able to get a job like this so soon and …. are you okay?" he asked seeing Kaiba look lost in his own thoughts.

Kaiba had indeed been lost in his own thoughts. If Bakura was due to start work once the semester had finished then that meant that they would both be tied up working and probably spend less time together. This was going to really bother him. "Ryou, there's something I need to say to you but I'm not sure how to say it." His checks started to redden.

"Just say whatever comes to mind first." Bakura could see that his friend was becoming embarrassed and uncomfortable with the situation. "Don't worry how it sounds, I'm sure I'll be able to make sense of it all."

_Easier said than done. _Kaiba thought to himself. The fluttering sensation in his stomach was now starting to become more frequent as he became even more nervous. He tried as best as he could to explain. "Since my brother died you've helped me a lot to come to terms with the reality that I just wanted to deny. From this tragic event I've gained two very important things to me, the first being you as my friend and the second is that I'm finally starting to realise who I really am."

For a moment Kaiba stared at Bakura as he tried to say what was on his mind but couldn't find the words to express it. Instead he reached out and pulled Bakura closer to him until their lips met. Kaiba could now feel his heart beating double time as adrenaline rushed through his body whilst his lips glided softly over and around Bakura's.

Slowly Kaiba broke away and saw Bakura standing there looking slightly dazed. The fact that Bakura hadn't pulled away was a good sign, but he hadn't returned the kiss either which made Kaiba feel slightly uneasy about what he had just done. "Well, say something." He pleaded.

Bakura blinked a couple of times still dazed and surprised at what Kaiba had done. "I …. erm …I…………" he stuttered lost for words before he fell silent again. The phone on Kaiba's desk began to ring. "You had better get that." He told him with a weak smile and started to blush.

Kaiba turned and headed for his desk. With his back to Bakura he leaned across and picked up the phone. "I'm kind of busy at the moment." He told the caller, a girl from supplies, who kept on talking over him. She was droning on about ordering toilet tissue for the Kaiba Corp bathrooms. "I really don't have time for this." Kaiba sighed but still the girl continued to chatter. If Bakura hadn't of been in the room he would have yelled down the line at her about asking him such rubbish that didn't concern him but instead kept as calm as possible. "People use it to wipe their ass, I'm sure they don't care what colour it is." Feed up with the conversation he cancelled the call and left the phone off the hook. "Sorry about that." He apologised to Bakura but when he turned back around he was nowhere to be seen. "Ryou?"

It felt like his stomach had been tied into knots. Kaiba had clearly just made a fool of himself, deeply offended and probably lost his only friend in the process. Since he didn't know at what point Bakura had left during the call it would be too late to try and catch up with him leaving as the elevator was most likely half way down or even at the bottom of the building by now.

Rain drops hit against the window as he raced over and looked down to see if he could spot Bakura. It was only a few seconds before he did spot the white haired boy hurrying away from the building as fast as he could. Angry with himself Kaiba cursed and smashed his fist against the reinforced glass before backing away to slump back in to his chair.

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Just before lunch Kaiba had decided to finish for the day as it was hard for him to concentrate on his work with what had happened earlier. He sat in the back of his limo watching the rain fall as he was chauffeured home. As the limo came down the drive Kaiba could see Bakura sitting on the steps leading up to the front door of his Mansion.

The limo stopped, Kaiba climbed out and signalled to his chauffeur to leave before he approached Bakura. "I didn't expect to see you again after your reaction earlier." He spoke calmly. "I even thought that you might have gone back to your old place."

My keys are in the mansion." Bakura began to explain as he stared down at the wet ground. "And since your maid doesn't work Sundays there's no way I can get in."

Kaiba reached in to his pocket and pulled out his keys. He placed the door key in the lock ready to turn as he continued to talk to Bakura. "I understand if you want to leave."

"I don't want to." Bakura raised his head to look at Kaiba. "I'm sorry that I ran away earlier. I just ……"He broke off and stared back at the ground in front of him where a puddle was starting to form. "Last night when you were holding me, I didn't want you to stop."

The key stopped turning as Kaiba froze at what Bakura had said. Was he trying to say that he felt the same? He listened as his friend went on. "I've been feeling so confused recently. You're the only person that has bothered to spend time with me outside of school hours and I really liked it. I learnt that you're not as horrible as some people make out and I found myself liking you, even more than what I should. But I just kept telling myself that I only felt this way about you because of the lack of people in my life." Water dripped down Bakura's long white hair and he pulled his jacket collar tighter to try and stop the cold droplets from going down the back of his neck. "I didn't ever expect you to feel the same way about me and now that I know you do, it scares me."

"I scare you?" Kaiba asked confused. Water was dripping down his hair too but it didn't bother him.

"Not you." Bakura replied as his vision began to blur from tears building up in his eyes.

"Then what?" Kaiba asked rather impatiently. "If we both feel the same then what is there to be scared of?"

"Losing you, what other people will say, and ……" his voice was extremely quiet and tears mixed with rain drops as they ran down his face. "Getting hurt."

Kaiba now felt bad for asking so rudely. Even if he didn't believe everything that he had been told about the millennium items, like the spirit that 'supposedly' had taken over Bakura, it was still clear that Bakura had been deeply hurt by it as well as other things in his past. He wasn't going to let the chance for them both to be happy just slip away.

Standing in front of Bakura, Kaiba crouched down and placed one knee on the ground, right in the puddle, to steady himself. "I'm not going anywhere, screw what others might think and say, and as for getting hurt." He reached out, placed his hands around Bakura's and smiled. "I won't let anyone or anything hurt you. I promise."

Bakura looked at Kaiba and saw the warm loving smile on his face. He believed that every word Kaiba had just said was the true. "What if I'm not ready?" he asked shyly.

"Ready for what?" Kaiba asked puzzled. He saw Bakura's checks flush a deep red colour and then knew that Bakura must have been talking about sex. Kaiba laughed softly. It hadn't crossed his mind just yet but now that Bakura had mentioned it…… "Then I'll be here waiting until you are." Both of them smiled at each other and held hands tightly. "Come on let's go inside where it's dry." Kaiba said as he helped Bakura rise to his feet.

Kaiba pushed the door open and let Bakura enter first. "I'll go and get us some dry clothes." He said closing the door behind him.

"Not for me." Bakura blurted out. "I have to go."

"But I thought……?" Kaiba was confused. They'd just talked through their feelings for each other realising that the both wanted to be together and yet here Bakura was still wanting to leave?

"I'll be back." Bakura laughed seeing the puzzled look on Kaiba's face before he started to run up the stairs to the room he had stayed in. "I just have to hand the keys back to my landlord. He'll be expecting me any time soon."

"I knew that!" Kaiba shouted after him feeling slightly embarrassed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Big thanks to Frenchsnake for ****agreeing to be my beta reader, and to those who left reviews.  
I own no rights to Yugioh!  
**

**Chapter Nine**

By the time Bakura reached the house, he was soaked to the bone and beginning to wish that he hadn't turned down Kaiba's offer to drive him there and back. He sighed heavily, but he knew that this was something he had to do on his own. Once he handed back the keys to his landlord he would finally be able to close the door on his past and start anew with Kaiba, and nothing was going to ruin his life ever again.

As he walked up to the house he spotted a parcel on the doorstep. It couldn't have been there long, as it was still fairly dry. Picking it up, Bakura could see that it was addressed to him but that there were no other markings on it. He let himself in to the house and placed the parcel on the table, checking to see that his suitcase and backpack were under the table and ready to go as he had packed them the previous night before heading over to Kaiba's.

Wearily, he slowly opened the parcel and lifted up the flaps, seeing that whatever was inside had been padded securely with packing peanuts. Removing them one handful at a time, it wasn't long before he felt something cold and smooth. Gently he brushed the remaining padding to one side and gasped at what he saw. "This can't be possible!"

Bakura had last seen the millennium ring being buried as the cavern caved in after Yugi had beaten the pharaoh in a duel, and yet here it was before him, glowing dimly. The glowing became brighter, and suddenly the millennium ring rose up out of the box, with its teeth pointing directly at Bakura, and rushed at him. Bakura tried to claw at it, but he was too slow as it dematerialised under his clothing and impaled itself deep into his chest.

Darkness surrounded Bakura as he felt himself pulled in to the shadows that lurked at the back of his mind. He'd been there many times before, but still it terrified him as he saw the form of his Yami emerge from the darkness. "Hello old chum, miss me?" The evil spirit of the millennium ring sneered at him.

"You're no chum of mine." Bakura hissed as bravely as he could.

Yami Bakura was angered by his host's reply. The Bakura he had last known wouldn't have dared to speak to him like that. "If it wasn't for me then you'd still be at boarding school having your head flushed down the lavatory and non-existent in your parents eyes whilst your sister stole all their attention from you!" he stormed towards Bakura, making him fall on his behind. "You asked for my help and I gave it, so don't you dare tell me that we're not friends!"

"I never asked for you to do what you did." The memories of how his Yami had helped came flooding back. He had tried so hard and was doing well forgetting about them, too.

"So the bullies ended up in comas with their souls roaming the shadow realm." The spirit shrugged as though he had made a simple mistake. "And your sister can't steal your parents' attention went she's dead, now can she? And the fact that your mother died too was an added bonus." A twisted smile appeared on his face as he saw Bakura begin to cry. "That's the Ryou I remember. A pathetic, snivelling little child, that is what you'll always be."

"No." Bakura wiped the tears from his eyes. He couldn't give his Yami the satisfaction of seeing him break so easily. "That's only what you want me to believe."

Angered by his host once more, the spirit struck out and hit Bakura. "Don't try to be something you're not! It doesn't suit you." He crouched down to where Bakura now lay on the floor of darkness and grabbed him by his hair to pull him up closer. "Now let's see what I've been missing." Yami Bakura closed his eyes as he held his host's head against his own and read everything that had happened over the period of time that the two of them had been apart. Every event, memory and emotion was made available to him in an instant whilst Bakura winced in pain from the tight grip that he had over him.

Satisfied that he had gained what he wanted the spirit threw Bakura to the ground once more. There was a disgusted look on his face and tone of voice. "I know I screwed you up pretty badly, but that's just damn right revolting." He began to circle around Bakura. "What ever possessed you to get involved with Seto Kaiba?" Bakura remained silent. "Well, I suppose it could have been worse. At least I can use Kaiba in my plans."

"You leave him alone!" Bakura yelled at his Yami, only to be met with an evil grin.

"Or what?" the spirit laughed. "You'll stop me?" He watched as Bakura got back on to his feet.

"Damn right I will!" Bakura could feel himself trembling as he squared up to his tormentor.

Anger flashed in Yami Bakura's eyes. How dare this inferior human stand before him. He struck out and knocked Bakura to the ground once more. "Just become he told you that you were strong doesn't mean that he was telling the truth!" The last thing that he had expected was that he would have to break his host's will all over again.

Bakura remained where he had fallen flat on his front and gasped in pain from beginning struck constantly. He knew that there would be no physical pain or marks as they were simply two souls battling it out inside his mind, but being struck by his Yami caused him great emotional pain and decreased his willpower. "What do you want with him?" he whimpered.

"To bring darkness and chaos upon this world." Yami Bakura crouched down and pushed at the boy so that he sat up and faced him. "He has money and therefore has power over others. If he feels for you the way you think he does, then I'll have no trouble posing as you to get him to do my dirty work. I'll start off small and work my way up until every human on the planet is at war with each other." He reached his hand out and almost lovingly placed it on Bakura's cheek. "You'll always be mine. Nobody will ever take you from me." He forced himself upon the weaker boy.

Bakura knew that he shouldn't struggle if he wanted what was about to happen to be over quickly but he had to make sure that Kaiba would be okay. "If I succumb to you, do you promise not to hurt Seto?"

"Don't worry. Providing that he does as he's told I won't harm him." The spirit continued to grope at Bakura who no longer resisted. He learned closer and whispered: "Well not much anyway." He smiled evilly and then forced his tongue in to Bakura's mouth.

With all the strength he had Bakura bit down hard on his Yami's tongue, causing the spirit to scream and recoil in pain. There was no way he was going to let Kaiba come to any harm and would endure whatever abuse the spirit dealt out to him, which continued with another blow that knocked him down and winded him.

"You'll pay dearly for that!" the spirit roared as he pushed Bakura down and climbed on top of him. "Don't think I'll go easy on you this time."

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get that." The spirit snapped and got off Bakura, who was crying heavily. Gaining control of his host's body, he opened the door for the landlord and sneered. "You're late."

"And you still owe me." The short balding man replied as he forced his way pass his ex-tenant-to-be.

"I believe these are for you." Yami Bakura glared at the short man as he reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a cheque that Kaiba had insisted on writing out to clear all of the remaining debt and the keys to the house which Bakura had placed back there after entering the house a short while earlier. "And these are mine." He picked up the suitcase and backpack. "Enjoy your hellhole while you still can," he told the landlord before he left.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Yami Bakura had been sitting on the couch in Kaiba's office for over an hour, as he had arrived at the mansion to find Kaiba doing yet more work. He glanced across to where Kaiba sat typing away at his computer and had not said a word to him for nearly all the time that he'd been there. Kaiba really did seem addicted to his work, and there couldn't possibly be any way that he could have changed. He couldn't believe that this was the life that his host wanted, as he was bored senseless just sitting there doing nothing. Acting like he thought Bakura would, he let out a rather bored, drawn out sigh in order to get Kaiba's attention.

It worked, and Kaiba took his eyes from his computer to look at Bakura. "You seem very quiet. Is everything okay?"

"Yep, I'm just thinking about earlier." Yami Bakura replied, only to find that Kaiba had gone straight back to his typing. Could it have been possible that he had gotten it wrong about his host and Kaiba? This wasn't the way couples spent their time together.

"What about earlier?" Kaiba asked, stopping to click the mouse before he continued typing again.

Now was Yami Bakura's chance to test out just what Kaiba would be prepared to do for Bakura. "My landlord had such an attitude problem and I think he really needs to be taught a lesson. Can you have someone dispose of him?" He laughed a little to make it sound more of a joke than and actually request.

"Afraid not." Kaiba laughed, still typing and looking at the monitor screen.

"Well, how about having his property destroyed?" the spirit tried again. Surely Kaiba would be willing to seek revenge on someone who upset Bakura; he knew that he himself would, in his own twisted way. "Arson is a pretty good way to go about it," he suggested.

"Nope." Kaiba smiled in amusement at how much Bakura must hate his old landlord.

"Is that because you won't or because you can't?" Yami Bakura asked, frustrated at not being able to get what he wanted.

Kaiba stopped typing and looked suspiciously at Bakura. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Yami Bakura huffed as he grabbed a pen and note pad and began to doodle after throwing himself back on the couch so that his back was to Kaiba. "Just extremely bored."

"I won't be long now." Kaiba assured. "I'll just finish up here and then we'll go and finish off that anime series that we started watching."

"Whoopee!" came the sarcastic reply from Yami Bakura as he rolled his eyes whilst still doodling.

Kaiba frowned as he watched Bakura scribbling away at the pad. Was he mad at him? Well, he wouldn't blame Bakura if he was. He had promised that he had finished working for the day, only to go back on his word after an urgent e-mail from the software company. "What's that?" he asked after catching a brief glimpse of what Bakura had scribbled on the paper.

Yami Bakura now paid attention to what he had mindlessly done on the pad and was shocked to see the words 'Seto help me' written rather largely on the page. Quickly he scrunched up the paper and removed the pen from his left hand. "It's nothing," he assured Kaiba as he got up and started to back away towards the door. "I just thought that I'd try writing you a poem, but now that you're aware of it I'm too shy to complete it." That sounded like the kind of thing his host would do. "You finish off what you have to do and I'll go and get that anime ready for us to watch." He smiled and exited the office.

Once he had reached Bakura's room he slammed the door behind him and entered into his host's mind to face him. He was extremely angry that Bakura had managed to gain control of his arm again without him realising.

"Did you think that I wouldn't put up a fight?" Bakura asked as he saw his Yami coming towards him.

The spirit struck out and hit Bakura so hard that he was sent flying several feet away from him. "When will you learn that you can never overpower me?!" Anger and frustration burned in his eyes as he glared down at the boy lying on the ground.

Pain surged through Bakura, but still he managed to smile and laugh at his Yami. "You couldn't even get Seto to take revenge against the landlord, so what hope do you have of getting your plan to work?" He prepared himself for more abuse, but none came. Instead he saw the spirit lost deep in thought.

"For once, you're right, Ryou," Yami Bakura spoke in a civilised manner. "This plan isn't going to work after all. I'll have a much better chance on my own, so time to go to plan B." The spirit watched as the smile disappeared from his host's face. He would break him yet, and he knew just the way to do it.

"What's plan B?" Bakura asked as he slowly backed away from his Yami, who came closer.

"That is my little secret." The spirit smiled as he crouched down to be level with the scared boy. He reached out and pulled Bakura by his hair. "You've defied me for the last time."

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The keyboard continued to click as Kaiba ran his fingertips over the keys. Just a couple more sentences and he'd be done. The phone rang and he answered it. "Kaiba speaking."

"Seto, it's me." Bakura's voice came down the line.

"Okay, I get the hint." Kaiba said as he saved his work. It was still incomplete, but he'd sort it out tomorrow. He powered down his computer. "I'm all yours now."

"Good, because I'm all ready and waiting for you."

"Start the anime." Kaiba ordered as he got up ready to leave his office. "I'm on my way."

"Who said anything about anime?"

Speechless, Kaiba froze on the spot. Was Bakura suggesting that he was ready for them to have sex?

"Meet me in my room." Bakura hung up the phone.

Kaiba slowly put the phone down. He had been aroused by the surprise call but honestly thought that it was far too soon for them to go down that road. And hadn't Bakura said earlier that he wasn't ready for sex? He couldn't have changed his mind that quickly, could he?

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There was a soft tapping on Bakura's door and Kaiba slowly poked his head around to see Bakura sitting on the bed wearing pyjamas. He entered and walked up to the bed. "Ryou?"

"Shhh, don't talk." Bakura's finger was placed gently on to Kaiba's lip as he pulled for him to come closer. Their lips met and both of them kissed each other deeply and passionately, Kaiba still standing and Bakura kneeling up on the bed. "You're scared," Bakura told Kaiba as he felt him shake. There was a small grin creeping onto his face.

"Just nervous," Kaiba said as he ran his hand through Bakura's long white hair. "I didn't expect us to be doing this so soon. Are you sure you're ready?"

Bakura pulled at Kaiba's top until it was over his head and dropped it on the floor. "Just promise you'll be gentle with me," he said before kissing Kaiba passionately again. One hand wound around the locket that still hung from Kaiba's neck as the other undid Kaiba's belt buckle.

Fumbling with the buttons on Bakura's pyjama shirt Kaiba struggled to open them. Once they were all open he pulled Bakura closer and fell a coldness against his chest. He broke away from Bakura's kisses and stared at his chest to see the millennium ring imbedded there. Looking back at Bakura's face he was shocked to see that Bakura's expression had changed. His eyes were sharp, cold and piecing and an evil smile ran across the lips he had just kissed.

Yami Bakura stopped his act of pretending to be his host and pulled tightly at the locket strap he held. A knot ran all the way up the strap until it pushed tightly against Kaiba's throat so that he could hardly breathe. He pushed Kaiba, who fell to the floor, landing on one of his arms. Bending the other arm back Yami Bakura sat on top of Kaiba and pulled tighter at the strap. "What's wrong, Seto? Thought you were going to be the one on top?"

Unable to do anything, Kaiba struggled to breathe. The Bakura he had last seen was not his Ryou, which meant that everything that he had ever been told about the millennium ring had to have been true. He tried to free his arms but failed as Bakura's weight kept him pinned to the ground. And then, unable to draw in another breath, everything went black.

The strap was released from Yami Bakura's hand as he got off from Kaiba's motionless body. He opened the drawer in the cabinet at the side of the bed and took out a small knife. "Now to make sure that you're dead," he spoke to Kaiba, who hadn't moved.

Suddenly the knife came across and stabbed itself deep in to Yami Bakura's right arm. He let out a hiss as the pain ran through him and cursed himself for forgetting that Bakura was able to gain control of the left arm. He went back inside his host's mind.

The spirit saw Bakura standing there, clearly upset by what had happened to Kaiba but still not broken like he had expected. "How many times do I have to knock you down before you stay down?!" he roared as he stormed forward, with dark clouds starting to form around the two of them


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Darkness was all that Kaiba could see as he heard his name called. "Seto?" He looked around but saw nobody. He had to find the source of that voice; he'd been longing to hear it for months now. "Seto, wake up." He was asleep? At least that explained why all he saw was darkness.

Slowly Kaiba opened his eyes. "Mokuba?" he moaned softly as he saw his brother leaning over him. Finding some strength, he managed to push himself up so that he was now sitting. He saw that he was still in Bakura's room. Bakura stood not too far away from him with a vacant look in his eyes and his body twitched slightly. "Am I dead?" Kaiba asked, turning back to his brother.

"Almost," Mokuba replied. "That's the reason you can see me now."

"I missed you, Mokie." Kaiba smiled with mixed feelings of sadness and happiness. He reached out his hand to hold his brother's.

"I know," Mokuba replied as he held tightly onto Kaiba's hand. "And you're going to keep on missing me, because it's not time for you to rejoin me yet." He saw his brother become saddened even more by learning that they wouldn't be together again. "I haven't got long to stay and chat. I just wanted you to know that I'm alright."

"But you're not alright," Kaiba replied. "You're dead."

"I meant that I made it across to the other side and that I didn't get lost in between!" Mokuba raised his voice with slight annoyance. "Mom was waiting for me," he said, softer and with a smile on his face. "She wanted me to tell you that she's extremely proud of you, and that she's watched you overcome everything that you've been through. She would have told you herself, but she's been across on the other side for so long that she's not permitted to return here anymore." Tears started to run down Mokuba's face and he wrapped his arms around his big brother. "I'm proud of you too."

Kaiba hugged his little brother back. Knowing what Mokuba and his mother thought about him would be the strength that he needed to carry on without them. He loosened his embrace as he felt Mokuba pushing back gently.

"Seto, the other thing that I wanted to tell you is ………" Mokuba began as he started to fade. "…………. not dead ……….. Makenzie …….." His brother's words were hard to make out as he disappeared, and Kaiba felt himself struggling to breathe again.

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Pulling at the strap around his neck, Kaiba managed to remove it and began to breathe properly again. Had he just imagined that Mokuba had been there? He pushed himself up and got back on to his feet, nearly bumping into Bakura as he did so. "Ryou, can you hear me?" he asked whilst taking a couple of steps back after seeing that the knife was still tightly held in Bakura's hand. From the stab wound, he guessed that Ryou had been able to take control and stabbed himself in order to stop the spirit from killing him.

"Seto?" Bakura said faintly as he came out of his trance. "Help me."

"No chance," Kaiba said angrily as he narrowed his eyes.

"But, he made me…" Bakura started, only to be interrupted.

"Spare me the crap! I know you're not Ryou." Kaiba had been watching Bakura's eyes the whole time. The pair of eyes that stared back at him were not the kind, loving ones that belonged to his friend. "What have you done with him?"

An evil smirk appeared on Bakura's face. "He's still here, reliving those 'memorable' family moments." Yami Bakura pointed up to his head, indicating that his host was locked deep within his mind. Blood dripped down from his wounded arm. "Must be a great feeling, watching those you love die and knowing that you were the one who led them to their deaths."

"Why must you torment him?" Kaiba asked in a despising tone.

"If I didn't, then others would," Yami Bakura replied in an equally despising tone. "Like you, for example." He began to move as he tried to intimidate Kaiba by circling around him, but failed as Kaiba too moved in time with him. "Do you really think that you're capable of loving somebody other than yourself?"

Kaiba remained silent. He didn't owe anyone an explanation of his feelings and emotions, especially those who they didn't concern. He eyed the knife once more and prepared himself for any sudden attack that Yami Bakura might make against him.

"It's pathetic the way people misguide each other into believing that life is wonderful, that all troubles can be overcome and that everyone is equal to each other! But the truth is that we both know that that's not true, now don't we?" The smirk on Yami Bakura's face grew wider as it formed a huge grin. "It's a case of screw or be screwed."

Yami Bakura's grip on the knife tightened and his arm began to rise. Kaiba was ready to move when the spirit came for him, but instead he only saw Bakura stab himself again. Yami Bakura howled in pain, and eventually Bakura regained full control over his body and glanced at Kaiba. "I'm sorry."

"It's not you fault," Kaiba assured as he saw the apologetic look in his Ryou's eyes. He took a step closer and reached out to Bakura, who began to back away.

"I won't let him hurt you," Bakura said with tearful eyes. He knew that he didn't have long before his Yami would regain control as he could already feel the spirit trying to pull him back into the shadowy depths of his mind. Quickly he made his way over to the balcony windows that were open, and with one last glance back to Kaiba he leapt out over the rail and plummeted down to the ground below.

Unable to find his voice as he tried to cry out for Bakura to stop, Kaiba rushed to the rails and looked down to see Bakura sprawled out on his back two stories below. Keeping as calm as he could, Kaiba began to make his way down through the mansion and outside, calling the emergency services on his cell phone as he did so. As Bakura came into his sight, he hung up and rushed to his side.

"Ryou?" Kaiba knelt down by Bakura's side and checked to see that he was still breathing. "Hang in there, help is on the way." He knew that he shouldn't move Bakura but couldn't stop himself from cradling his head in his lap. "It's going to be okay."

Slowly Bakura opened his eyes and stared right up at Kaiba, who looked down at him lovingly. "He can't exist without me." He spoke weakly and smiled sadly. "If I die, then he won't be able to hurt you."

"There has to be another way." Kaiba's voice wobbled at the though of losing Bakura.

Bakura felt tears leak from his eyes as he continued to stare at Kaiba, who was just managing to hold back the sadness that filled him. He didn't want to leave Kaiba either, and he knew of one other way to rid his body of the spirit. Bakura tried to move his arms but couldn't as he had no feeling in them. "Remove the ring," he told Kaiba.

"It's imbedded too deep." Kaiba shook his head. "The blood loss would be too great." He couldn't bring himself to say that it would kill Bakura almost instantly.

"Please, Seto," Bakura begged and screwed up his face as he fought hard to keep his Yami back. "I can't keep fighting him"

Obeying Bakura's pleading, Kaiba carefully placed his head back on to the ground and repositioned himself by Bakura's side. He took hold of the millennium ring with both hands and closed his eyes as he removed it from Bakura's chest; he didn't want to see the gaping wound that it would leave behind. It took Kaiba all the strength he had to remove the millennium ring, as it put up some resistance.

Once it was out, Kaiba, still with his eyes closed, turned and moved away from Bakura. With both arms he held the millennium ring tightly to his chest as he made sure that it wouldn't be able to take control of Bakura. He listened carefully for signs that Bakura was still alive, but heard nothing as the sound of sirens filled the air.


	12. Chapter 12

**My apologies for the slight delay, due to illness.  
Thanks for reading and to those who left reviews.  
Yugioh is still not mine and will never belong to me. **

**Chapter Twelve**

The room was white and blurred as Bakura slowly opened his eyes. An oxygen mask was on his face and caused him some slight discomfort. With his non wounded arm he attempted to remove the mask but was unable as the tube for the drip in his arm prevented him from doing so. Instead he lifted his other arm which caused a sharp pain to rush through him, but still he carried on until his face was free from the mask.

Now that his vision was more focused, Bakura turned his head to look around the room he was in. A neck brace around his neck made it hard for him to do so but he didn't have to turn his head far to see Kaiba asleep in the chair that was next to his bed on his right. He smiled softly as he watched his friend sleeping peacefully before his attention was drawn to the cards, flowers and balloons that were scattered around close by.

There was a snort followed by a soft moan as Kaiba awoke and saw Bakura staring back at him. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long." Bakura smiled. "Where did all this lot come from?" he asked about the cards, flowers and balloons.

"Tristan was in the waiting room ready to have his leg cast removed when he saw them bring you in, and naturally he went and told Yugi and the others." Kaiba replied then fell silent for a brief moment, feeling guilty that he hadn't gotten anything himself for his friend, before he filled Bakura in on more of the details of what had happened. "I told them that you were staying at the mansion, after your landlord ended your contract, as a sign of my gratitude for the help you'd given me. I managed to pass the whole incidence off as a sleepwalking accident and haven't mentioned anything about the millennium ring to anybody."

"The ring, where is it?!" Bakura asked with an uneasiness and slight terror in his voice.

"I got rid of it so that it won't bother you ever again." Kaiba assured with a warm smile.

"No, that thing always finds a way back to me." Bakura shook his head but only managed to wobble it slightly as the brace held it in place.

Kaiba couldn't help but smile at seeing Bakura's head wobble the way it did. "Don't worry, I had it melted down. There's no way the spirit can survive if the gold has been mixed with more and remade in to hundreds of other items." He leaned forward and took hold of Bakura's hand in his own. "He's not coming back to hurt you, and even if he tried I won't let him."

Bakura looked down at his hand which wasn't enclosed between Kaiba's and he felt his eyes fill up. "After everything that happened that night you still want to be together?"

"Of course I do." Kaiba replied as they both gazed at each other and smiled.

"But I almost killed you." Bakura's voice wobbled at the thought of what could have been.

"No." Kaiba shook his head. "It wasn't you, it was him." He saw tears of happiness dance in Bakura's eyes at his way of admitting that he had been wrong not to believe his friend about the spirit of the ring.

The handle of the room door creaked as it was pushed down from the outside and Kaiba instantly let go of Bakura's hand upon hearing the sound. "Not yet." Kaiba whispered to Bakura who had a look of confusion upon his face from his sudden reaction.

Bakura nodded in agreement as he realised that Kaiba was not yet ready to let anybody else know about the two of them being an item. He glanced towards the door and saw Yugi enter with a huge smile upon his face.

"You're awake!" Yugi exclaimed as he came over to Bakura's bedside. "Did you enjoy your two week nap?" he laughed.

"Two weeks?!" Bakura was a little surprised at how long he had been unconscious.

"Yep." Beamed Yugi. "The gang and I have been coming to see you whenever we can. Unfortunately though only I could make it this evening." He turned to Kaiba who was sat back in the big deep chair beside the bed. "It's nice to see you here again. How often have you been visiting?"

Kaiba unfolded the newspaper that was tucked down the side of the chair and held it up in front of his face. He had done this so many times over the past couple of weeks as Yugi always questioned him about why he was there.

Shrugging to himself at Kaiba's same reaction Yugi turned back to Bakura. "Its amazing that you only gained minor injuries from the fall. You should be up and about in no time at all."

"Minor injuries you say?" Bakura laughed nervously knowing that the reason he wasn't in worse conditions must have been due to his Yami who always made sure that no serious injury ever came to him.

Yugi's smiling head nodded as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small pile of magazines. "We thought that you might like something to read." He handed them to Bakura.

"Thanks Yugi." Bakura smiled in return and began to cycle through the magazines which covered all kind of topics; Politics, Science, History, Gardening, Cars, Manga and there was even an imported gossip magazine from the UK. "These should keep me entertained for hours, please give my thanks to the others as ……" he trailed off as his eyes bulged at the sight of a topless woman on the last magazine cover.

"That one was Joey's idea." Yugi said as his cheeks began to blush. "Tea would probably kill us all if she knew that we gave it to you."

Kaiba lowered his newspaper to peer over the top to see what was going on but his attention was drawn to the door as a nurse entered. "Visiting time is nearly over." The nurse announced and then smiled as she saw that Bakura was conscious. "How long have you been back with us, hun?"

"Only for a short while." Bakura replied as he placed the top-shelf magazine to the bottom of the pile and set them on the bed as the nurse came closer to take away the breathing equipment that was no longer needed.

"And no one thought to inform a member of staff?" The nurse said disappointedly as she glared at Yugi and Kaiba in turn. Neither of them replied.

Calmly Kaiba folded the newspaper and placed it on the chair as he stood. "Time I was going." He said and flashed Bakura a smile before he left the room.

"Me too." Added Yugi and quickly followed after Kaiba. "See you another time." He waved to Bakura.

"Do you need some help sitting up?" The nurse asked Bakura.

"No thanks, I'm just going to lay here and rest." Bakura replied and tried to move the pile of magazines to the bedside table only for them to drop and scatter on the floor.

"I'll get those for you." Said the nurse as she bent down and reached out to collect the magazines. She handed the pile back to Bakura with the topless woman staring up at him.

"That's not mine." Bakura said feeling heat rise in his cheeks as the nurse just looked at him. "Well it is, but it was a gift. I mean, I didn't choose it. I didn't even ask for it." He wished that the neck brace wasn't there so that he would be able to turn away from the nurse during this embarrassing situation but all he could do was divert his eyes as best as he could.

"No need to explain hun, lots of boys your age want to look at stuff like this." The nurse laughed and then placed the magazines on to the table for Bakura. "I'll leave you to rest now." And she left the room.

Bakura placed his head back on the pillow. "Not this boy." He said to himself as he closed his eyes and dreamt about being held in the safety of Kaiba's arms.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Three days later, the school semester had finished and Bakura was due home from the hospital in just a few hours. With Bakura conscious again and knowing that he didn't have to worry about him so much Kaiba spent less time at the hospital, avoiding the awkward questions thrown at him by Yugi as to why he spent so much time there. Now Kaiba had a little more time to focus on other things, like just what was it that his brother had been trying to tell him that night?

Kaiba sat in his living room typing away at the laptop resting on his knees. He had chosen not to use the computer in his office as he knew that time would easily escape him and didn't want to be late for picking Bakura up from the hospital in a short while. Makenzie had been the name that he had heard Mokuba say but just what was it suppose to mean? He had used countless search engines on the internet looking for anything that might be relevant to what he was looking for, but nothing was making any sense to him.

Displayed at the moment was a site advertising a holiday ranch that belonged to the Makenzie family just a few hours drive out of the city. Picturesque views of mountains, forests and lakes filled the screen. For a moment Kaiba thought he had made a breakthrough as he was sure that he'd been there before, but just sighed as he realised that it meant nothing more to him. Maybe he should just give up as Mokuba's words could have meant anything.

"There you are!" Bakura's voice sounded across the room from where he stood in the doorway.

"You're early." Kaiba exclaimed as he checked his watch to make sure that he hadn't lost track of the time or that it had stopped.

"Surprise." Bakura laughed as he came bouncing towards Kaiba and bent down to kiss him softly on the cheek. He raised his eyebrows at seeing the laptop in use. "You're not working again are you?"

"Not at the moment." Kaiba sighed not sure if he should even attempt to explain what he was doing since he didn't even know himself.

"What's this then?" Bakura asked as he quickly scanned the information on screen. "Are you arranging a weekend away for the two of us?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing." Kaiba smiled. Perfect, he didn't have to explain anything. He clicked on the link to book them in.

"You really deserve a vacation after everything that's happened, and it'll be great to spend some time together before we're both busy working over the summer." Bakura smiled down at Kaiba. They looked at each other longingly and drew closer together to kiss.

"Holy Crap!"

Startled by the outcry the two of them pulled apart just as their lips were about to meet. Kaiba glared angrily to the doorway where Yugi and Tea stood with their hands held tightly over Joey's mouth. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

"We …. er…….we….." The two friends stuttered as they struggled to keep Joey's voice muffled.

"They came with me from the hospital." Bakura added and saw Kaiba's angry face glare up at him, his voice weakened. "They were supposed to be waiting in the hall." He suspected that Kaiba thought he had done this on purpose.

"That would be my fault sir." Ros confessed as she entered the room. "I'm the one who told them to come through."

Kaiba took a few deep breaths to help calm himself. He hadn't wanted anyone to find out about him and Bakura just yet but there was nothing he could do about it now. Not saying a word he went back to his laptop and finished off the room booking for the ranch.

"How long have you two been?" Yugi dared to break the silence as he struggled to find words to ask his question.

"We were going to tell you when we thought the time was right." Bakura answered as he looked at Kaiba typing away wondering if he was mad at him.

"No you wouldn't." Joey said now that his mouth was free from his friends' hands. "Kaiba would've made sure that you never revealed his dirty little secret."

Everyone in the room looked shocked at what Joey had said, apart from Kaiba who was busy closing all the windows on his laptop. "Looks like Wheeler's a homophobic."

"Am not!" Joey snapped back at Kaiba's comment.

Kaiba folded down the screen on his laptop with a smirk on his face at seeing Joey wound up so easily. "Then you're jealous because Ryou has something you want."

"In your dreams, Rich boy!" Joey stepped forward with his fist raised and clenched.

"Stop trying to pick fights." Tea told Joey as she held him back. She turned on Kaiba who was still smirking. "And you, stop provoking him."

The smirk disappeared from Kaiba's face as his eyes narrowed at Tea. How dare she speak to him like that, especially in his own home.

"Master Seto, if I might say a few words?" Ros spoke as she came forward from where she stood behind Yugi. She waited for Kaiba to nod that it was okay as he still glared at Tea. "For all the years that I have worked for you, I have not once seen you as happy as you have been since you let Ryou in to your life. There is no shame in having feelings for someone who shares those same feelings back to you, no matter what gender you both may be. Don't you pay any attention to anyone who says otherwise."

Hearing Ros' words made Kaiba feel slightly better. He would never have paid attention to the negative views others had about him and Bakura anyway, but just knowing that she was supportive of him made him feel more relaxed about the situation. He smiled and nodded his thanks to her as she bowed in return and left to answer the phone that could be heard ringing from another room.

"So." Yugi sighed breaking the silence once more. "What do you two have planned for the summer?"

"Work." Kaiba and Bakura both replied at the same time.

"No Duel Monsters tournaments?" Yugi asked hoping that he would get the chance to duel against Kaiba on his own without the help of the pharaoh.

"I don't have the time right now." Kaiba replied shaking his head and seeing a very disappointed Yugi appear before him. "Sorry Yugi, maybe next time."

"Phone call sir." Ros said as she poked her head around the door. "Work related." Kaiba excused himself as he got up and left to take the call.

"What are you doing?" Joey asked Bakura once Kaiba was clear of the room.

"Pardon?" Bakura replied in surprise as he sat down where Kaiba had been sat on the couch.

"With Kaiba?" Joey added.

Tea grabbed Joey's sleeve. "Leave it, they're both happy together."

"Seto was right, you are homophobic." Bakura told Joey.

"No I'm not!" Joey said through clenched teeth. "I'm okay with you guys being gay, just not together." His voice became a mumble towards the end of his sentence.

"What he's trying to say is that we're worried about you." Yugi stepped in to help Joey get his point across.

"Ever since we heard that you had moved in here we just wanted to make sure you were okay." Tea also joined in.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" Bakura laughed nervously.

The group of three friends looked from one another as though to decide who was going to explain and Yugi spoke up as to what was on their minds. "You know what Kaiba is like. He likes to keep things to himself, at times he can be very cold-hearted and those close to him often get pushed to one side and ignored." Yugi could clearly remember all the times that Mokuba had turned to him for comfort when his brother had upset him. "We just don't want that to happen to you."

"That's very kind of you to be concerned about me but I'm okay." Bakura smiled as he leaned back on the couch. "There's a kinder side to Seto that you haven't seen and believe it or not he ….."

"Please don't give us the _'sun shines out of his ass'_ speech 'cause we don't want to hear it." Joey interrupted and rolled his eyes.

Bakura became quite annoyed and angered by Joey's attitude; in fact they all seemed to be against him. "And I don't want to hear you three go on talking like we're the best of friends when we all know that you only want me as a friend when it suits you." Both his voice and face were full of anger.

Joey stared back at the angry look that he was getting from Bakura. "D'ya know what, you two deserve each other." He said coldly before turning to Yugi and Tea. "I'm outtta here." And he stormed off.

"Is that what you really think?" Tea asked. Her voice wobbled and eyes began to water. She followed after Joey and faint sobbing could be heard as she left.

The anger drained from Bakura's face as he watched Tea leave. He hadn't meant to upset any of them, he just wanted them to back off a little and be happy for him and Kaiba.

"I'm sorry if that's the impression that you got of us, but we really do worry about you and will always be there for you as friends." Yugi forced a weak smile on his face. "You two make a really cute couple, and I wish you both nothing but happiness for the future." He turned and followed after his friends.

"Yugi!" Bakura called out just as Yugi reached the door. He stared in to the empty space in front of him where the three of them had been standing just a few moments ago. He couldn't bring himself to face Yugi after the way he had behaved. "Thank you, for everything you just said."

Bakura heard the door close as Yugi left and he buried his face in to his hands. What had he just done? They had been his friends the whole time, he just failed to realise it. Had his expectations of what he thought as a friend been too high all the time? And now after the way he had just spoken to them he had lost them. Even though Yugi had said that they would still be there for him did he really mean it or was he just being nice? Bakura heard the door open.

"They're all gone?" Kaiba asked in surprise at seeing the room empty but at the same time relieved that his unexpected guests had gone.

"Yep." Bakura took his head out of his hands. "It's just the two of us now." He forced a smile before Kaiba had the chance to realise that anything was wrong. "Are you really not going to participate in any Duel Monster tournaments this summer?" he asked.

Kaiba shook his head sadly. "With everything that's happened over the past few months I've been neglecting my company and need to bring it back up to how it use to be. Of course I won't be working as many hours as I use to but I'll still be busy." He reached out his hands down to Bakura. "And besides, every spare second that I get I want to spend with you."

"Really?" Bakura asked as he took hold of Kaiba's hands and was lifted from the couch.

"Really." Kaiba replied pulling Bakura closer in to an embrace. He moved the long white hair back from Bakura's face and softly kissed him on the forehead.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

It was late evening when Kaiba and Bakura arrived at the Makenzie ranch. Originally they had planned to arrive there during the afternoon but Kaiba had been held up at Kaiba Corp for longer than what he had expected. Carrying their bags they walked through the hotel to find their room. Bakura remained quiet as Kaiba grumbled to himself about how badly the weekend had gotten off to. At the moment he was complaining about the lack of things to do right now.

"It's too dark to go for a stroll, there's nothing in the way of entertainment in the hotel, and we're too far away from anywhere else to be able to go out for the night." He glanced to Bakura. "So what are we to do with ourselves?"

Bakura just shrugged as they continued to walk. He was beginning to have second thoughts about the whole thing as he still didn't feel ready to be sleeping with Kaiba just yet. "Maybe this whole thing wasn't such a good idea after all." He said quietly as they arrived at their room.

"Nonsense." Kaiba laughed as he placed the key in the lock. "The two of us alone in the middle of nowhere, what could possibly be better?"

"I can't do this!" Bakura blurted out. "I'm still not ready for ……" he trailed off as the door opened and there he saw that the double room contained two single beds, not one double bed like he had been expecting.

"I know that." Kaiba said looking at Bakura who just looked away not wanting to make eye contact with him. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"I know, and I'm sorry for thinking otherwise." Bakura closed his eyes but still the tears that he tried to hide fell. "It's just that he use to make me." More tears fell from his closed eyes.

Gently Kaiba placed his hands on Bakura's shoulders and pulled him closer to him. "He really abused you didn't he?" He felt Bakura's head rub against him as he nodded. Carefully he moved in to the room as he held on tightly to Bakura and closed the door.

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The next morning came and both of them got up early to go horse riding. Bakura felt a lot happier after having explained everything about the spirit and the millennium ring to Kaiba last night. It was a weight taken from him and now Kaiba knew everything, there were no secrets.

"We're here for riding lessons." Bakura explained to a girl who was busy cleaning out the stables.

"If that's the case then I'm afraid you're too late." The stable girl replied.

"Too late?" Bakura was confused. "But its first thing in the morning, how can we be too late?"

"Unless you plan on riding this miniature, you're out of luck." The girl nodded in the direction of a tiny horse that stood all alone in the huge stable.

"What happened to the horses?" Kaiba asked as he watched the miniature horse chewing on some hay.

"They were sold a few weeks ago." The girl began to explain. "This place hasn't been doing so well lately so the management decided to sell off all its attractions and activities in order to keep going. The horses were the last thing to go but nobody wants this poor little thing." She sighed and went back to work cleaning out the stable.

Bakura looked at Kaiba who was trying so hard to keep calm. "I can't believe that I've paid to stay in a shoebox and be served gruel." Kaiba hissed through clenched teeth.

"At least we're together." Bakura laughed as he took hold of Kaiba's hand. "So it's not all bad." Kaiba managed to see the funny side and smiled as the two of them headed to take a stroll in the forest.

They hadn't ventured too far in to the forest when Bakura pointed to something up ahead of them. "Look at that!" he shouted and let go of Kaiba's hand to leap on to the tire swing he had spotted. "Whee!" he laughed as the tire swung from side to side.

"Aren't you a little too old to be doing that?" Kaiba asked as he stood and watched Bakura swinging happily.

"Spoil sport." Bakura laughed and carried on swinging.

Kaiba smiled and shook his head at the fact that Bakura was a big kid at heart. He watched him a little longer and then al of a sudden it happened:

_# Mokuba laughed as he swung on the tire that hung from the tree._

"_Hey Mokie, do you want to play Duel Monsters?" Seto shouted down from where he stood up in the tree house._

"_Sure, I'll be right up!" Mokuba replied as he got down from the swing and began to climb the tree. #_

"Are you okay?" Bakura asked Kaiba who had been staring in to thin air for the past few minutes.

"Fine." Kaiba replied as he glanced at the tree to see the rotten remains of what looked like a tree house up in the branches. He approached the trunk and started to climb using whatever footholds he could find.

"You're going to break your neck if you fall from there!" Bakura shouted up to Kaiba who had nearly reached the rotten platform on the higher branches.

"Now who's a spoil sport?" Kaiba shouted back in return, as he reached his destination. There was a hole in the tree's trunk and in it was a rusty old tin. Kaiba reached in and removed the tin which had once contained cookies from the design that was still barely visible on it. He forced the lid off and there inside the tin he saw a pile of Duel Monster cards, _his_ Duel Monster cards. A wide smile appeared on his face as he shuffled through the cards. What had once been a forgotten memory had now been returned to him. Placing the cards into his pocket he stood ready to come down from the tree, but the wood under his feet was so rotten that it crumbled and he fell down to the ground.

"Seto!" Bakura cried out as he rushed to Kaiba's side.

"Oww." Kaiba moaned as he sat up rubbing his head. "I'm okay don't worry."

"Who said I was worried?" Bakura tried to joke about it and hit Kaiba on the arm. "You could have seriously injured yourself."

"I'm sorry." Kaiba could see the look of concern in Bakura's eyes and a smile appeared on his face. "I promise that I won't do that again." He was helped back on to his feet and the two of them continued their walk through the forest.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks once again to those of you who left reviews **

**Chapter Fifteen**

The midday sun was extremely hot as it shone directly above them. In the shade of a tree that stood by the side of the lake Kaiba and Bakura lay watching the clouds as they drifted by.

"This place is so peaceful and relaxing, and the company's not bad either." Bakura chuckled to himself. He rolled over on to his side so that he faced Kaiba who was still staring up at the sky. "Seto?" there was no response so he poked him gently.

"Mmm?" Kaiba blinked and then turned to Bakura. "Sorry Ryou, what was it you wanted?"

"Doesn't matter." Bakura smiled "Do you want to tell me where your mind was just then?"

"I've been here before, when I was younger." Kaiba returned his gaze back to the clouds above as he spoke. "Back at the tree in the forest, while you were swinging, I had a flashback of Mokuba and I playing there as children. There use to be a tree-house there were we would sit and play Duel Monsters, and when I climbed the tree I found these." He took the small pile of cards from his pocket and handed them to Bakura. "They're my cards."

"I wondered why you went up there." Bakura said as he looked through the pile of cards that he had been given.

There was a sound of a goose honking which made Kaiba sit bolt upright. He stared almost fearfully at the bird which was coming closer to where they sat.

"Are you having another flashback?" Bakura asked at seeing Kaiba react in such a strange way.

"No I'm not having another flashback!" Kaiba snapped. "I just don't like geese."

Bakura watched as Kaiba pushed himself backwards, he looked terrified of the honking bird. "Scram!" Bakura shouted as he got up and ran at the goose that turned and flew off across the lake. He walked back over to Kaiba. "Why are you afraid of geese?"

"I'm not _'afraid'_, I just don't like them." Kaiba replied but wasn't managing to convince Bakura who was trying his best not to laugh but failed. "It's not funny, stop laughing." He couldn't help but laugh himself.

"Make me." Bakura replied playfully as he moved further away from Kaiba.

"Right, you asked for it." Kaiba jumped up and chased after Bakura, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close. Both of them were laughing hard by now as they looked at each other. Kaiba was the first to stop laughing as he tilted Bakura's head slightly and kissed him on the lips.

Bakura stopped laughing as soon as he felt Kaiba's lips on his own and after a brief moment of hesitation he returned the kiss only to hear his stomach growl which caused him to burst out laughing once again.

"Hungry?" Kaiba asked him and saw Bakura nod as he finally managed to gain control of his laughter and stop. "Me too, let's go get some lunch."

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Kaiba sat with his chin resting on his hand as he drummed his fingers on the table waiting for Bakura to pick something from the hotel menu. He looked at the clock on the wall and sighed as it had been almost ten minutes since Bakura had first picked up the menu and still he hadn't decided what he wanted to eat. His eyes wandered around the dining room which was huge and looked even bigger since there were only two other couples seated there.

Out of the corner of his eye Kaiba caught a glimpse of a man walking by the dining room entrance. He sat up right and tried to get a better look as he was sure that he had seen him before, but it was too late as the man had walked right out of view. "I'll be back in a minute." He told Bakura as he stood up from the table.

"Okay." Bakura replied still scanning the courses that were listed on the menu he held.

As swiftly as he could, without breaking into a running pace, Kaiba followed the man he had spotted who entered a room marked _'Manager'_. He was about to approach the door when one of the hotel's maids stopped him. "I'm sorry sir but this part of the hotel is for staff only."

The room was not far behind the maid who was blocking Kaiba's way, somehow he had to get in there. "Can you let mister Makenzie know that I'm here to make him a business proposition? "

"Wait here." The maid knocked on the door and entered the room, leaving Kaiba along for a short while in the corridor.

_# Mokuba clung tightly to his brother and cried heavily. "What's going to happen to us?"_

"_I don't know." Seto admitted as he watched the car pull away from them, hatred burning in his eyes. "But I promise that I'll never abandon you." #_

The maid reappeared from the room and held the door open. "He says he will see you."

Kaiba took a deep breath and then entered the room and closed the door behind him. He saw the man he had recognised stand up from where he sat behind the desk offering his hand to shake, which Kaiba simply ignored.

"I've been told that you have a business proposition for me." Makenzie said as he gestured for Kaiba to take a seat in front of the desk. "It's true that the ranch has had problems recently so any investment is welcomed, but I never expected that the great almighty Kaiba Corporation would have shown any interest in this place."

Ignoring the seat Kaiba walked right up to the desk and picked up the name plate that stood there, Jacob Makenzie, and turned it around in his hands. "I'm not here to help bail you out of your financial problems; I'm here to take back what you owe me." He placed the name plate back on the desk and stared hatefully at Makenzie who was now seated again.

"I'm afraid I have no debts with your company." Makenzie laughed, this had to be some kind of a joke.

"That is true." Kaiba admitted as he started to make his way around the desk. "But you stole everything that belonged to my brother and me."

Makenzie's eyes widened in surprise. He knew that the boy standing before him was Seto Kaiba, the young CEO of Kaiba Corp, nearly everybody knew his face, but from the things he was saying could it possibility be?,,,,,,, "Nephew?"

"You never could remember my name." Kaiba smirked. He saw his uncle try to scramble from his chair and letting his anger take control he grabbed and slammed him hard on to the huge wooden desk, causing paperwork and stationary to fly in all directions. "You ruined our lives." He was ready to make his uncle pay for abandoning him and Mokuba all those years ago.

"Actually it looks like I did the right thing for you boys." Makenzie laughed nervously as he was pinned down to the desk. "You certainly seem to have done alright for yourself. Adopted by a millionaire and inherited everything he owned at such a young age. That's so much more than what you would have had if you had stayed here." A sly grin began to creep across his face. "But if you want to get really technical about it, you're not entitled to anything that I have since it still all belongs to your father."

"My father's dead." Kaiba stated angrily.

"Children are so young and naive that they believe anything." Makenzie smirked.

Everything was finally starting to make sense to Kaiba now; this is what Mokuba had been trying to tell him, their father was not dead. "Where is he?" Kaiba asked but got no reply. He shook his uncle and slammed him against the desk before asking again in a more threatening voice. "Where is he?"

"I don't know and quite frankly, I don't care!" Makenzie spat in an irritated voice.

"You don't care about your own brother?" Kaiba asked but not totally surprised by his uncle's attitude.

"Why should I?" Makenzie sneered. "If I went looking for him and succeeded then I'd be right back where I started, with nothing. Being the youngest of two brother's I got nothing whilst he got everything he ever wanted, and it was no different when our father died. He inherited everything and when you were born I was even less likely to gain anything, then your brother came along and my chances became virtually nil." He stared directly into the hateful eyes of his nephew. "And then one day my chance of gaining everything I should have been entitled to appeared right before me and I took it.

"It had been almost five years since your mother's death and although your father had struggled to come to terms with it he still had reason for living because of his two sons. Then one day he went out driving in his car and never returned. I found the car in a ditch at the side of the road but there was no sign of your father. There was no way that he would have abandoned you as the love he had for you both was sickening so suicide was also crossed off the list. It's most likely that he was in some kind of accident which caused him to loose his memory of who he is and just wandered off dazed and confused. So instead of reporting him missing I told you and your brother that he was dead and since there was no way that I was going to forfeit my own life and be stuck with raising two children I ditched you at the orphanage."

Kaiba had listened to every word that his uncle had told him about his almost forgotten past. He released his grip and stepped back to allow his uncle room to get up from the desk. "Like you said 'I've done alright for myself' so you can keep what you stole, for now anyway." He turned to walk away. "But when I find my father don't expect him to not want it all back."

"It's your father's fault that he has nothing." Makenzie hissed as he straightened up his tie and shirt collar. "He had a respectable job as a teacher but threw his career away because he couldn't keep his hands to himself and got one of his students pregnant. Instead of denying the whole thing and making the girl get rid of the baby he quit his job and married the whore just months before you were born."

"Nobody disrespects my mother." Kaiba growled as he turned back around and pummelled his fist into his uncle's stomach causing him to double over and drop to the ground. "I was prepared to walk away and leave you with this place but now I've changed my mind." He watched his uncle wince in pain. "You have a week to move out and sign this place over to me."

Kaiba returned to the dining room and pulled Bakura up from his seat. "Come on, we're leaving."

"But I just ordered lunch." Bakura protested as he was led away.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

They arrived home late that evening and were now in the mansion's home office. Bakura lay on the couch and listened to Kaiba explain why they had left the ranch earlier than expected. Kaiba had even told Bakura about how Mokuba had appeared to him and how he was now convinced that Mokuba had wanted him to find their father.

"No offence intended, but do you realise how crazy all of that just sounded?" Bakura said once Kaiba had finished talking.

"It's no crazier than you, Yugi and the others rambling on about those millennium items." Kaiba shot back as he typed away on the keyboard at his desk.

"What do you plan to do next?" Bakura said as he pulled himself up and leaned over the back of the couch so that he could see Kaiba behind the computer.

"I'm already working on that." Kaiba said as he clicked away at the mouse. "I'm searching all the media reports about hospital admissions around the time of my father's accident, when I find some that match I'll look into all the hospital records and track him down."

"They won't share personal information like that about their patients." Bakura said shaking his head. "How do you plan to get that information?"

"I have my ways." Kaiba flashed Bakura a smile as he typed again.

"You're not going to bribe them with money are you?" Bakura asked as he tried to guess how Kaiba was going to succeed.

"I've never had to bribe anyone." Kaiba replied. "Well, not with money anyway."

"You're going to take it by force?" Bakura seemed shocked.

Kaiba rolled his eyes at what he was hearing. "I'm the CEO of a company, not the head of the mafia like some people would have you believe."

"Sorry." Bakura muttered as he realised that he should have known better that to listen to anything that Joey had told him. He thought for a while as he listened to the tapping of the keys under Kaiba's fingers. "You're hacking into their systems aren't you?"

"Not yet." Kaiba smiled. "But just give me a little time."

"Seto, that's illegal!" Bakura exclaimed. "If you get caught …….."

"Oh, please." Kaiba laughed as he interrupted Bakura. "I've done this a thousand times before."

"That's not the point, the point is ……." Bakura sighed. No matter what he said Kaiba was still going to go ahead and hack the systems anyway. "I guess I'll just leave you to it. I'm going to call it a night." He stretched and yawned. "Goodnight."

Kaiba watched as Bakura left his office before he went back to doing what he had to do. He looked at his watch and told himself that he'd only spend another hour searching and then he too would call it a night.

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Kaiba opened his eyes the next morning to find that he had fallen asleep at the computer in his office. He sat up in his chair and rubbed his face where imprints of the keyboard had marked his cheek. There was a note on his desk which he picked up and read:

_'Dear Seto, Sorry to leave so early but there is something that I must to do today. I'm not sure what time I'll be back later but please don't worry about me, Ryou xxx'_

He wondered just what it was that Bakura had gone out to do. Placing the computer on standby he left his office to go shower. He didn't want Bakura to think that he was living with a slob that spent all his time on the computer.

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Bakura returned to the mansion late afternoon to find Kaiba still in his office. He could see that Kaiba had changed cloths from the night before so he hadn't just woken up and returned back to searching for hospital records like he had expected him to.

"Did you do what you had to do?" Kaiba asked as Bakura entered the office.

"Yep." Bakura smiled as he walked up to Kaiba's desk holding something behind his back. "And now I need you to come with me."

"Why?" Kaiba asked suspiciously and wondered what Bakura had behind his back.

"It's a surprise." Bakura smiled and watched as Kaiba powered down the computer. He revealed a blindfold that he had been hiding behind his back. "I know it's their day off but you're going to have to call someone to chauffeur us or I'll have to march you through the city wearing this blindfold." He held up the blindfold ready to cover Kaiba's eyes.

"You wouldn't dare." Kaiba laughed at Bakura's bluff.

"Try me." Bakura replied seriously.

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Not wanting to be made a fool of by being taken through the city streets wearing a blindfold Kaiba had managed to get Roland to drive them to Bakura's secret location. Bakura led the blind Kaiba as they exited the limo and walked to the spot where he was going to reveal his surprise.

"How much longer do I have to wear this?" Kaiba complained.

"Almost there." Bakura told him and a few steps later they stopped. "Okay, you can take it off now." He helped Kaiba remove the blindfold that was tied tightly.

In front of him Kaiba saw a gravestone that displayed the name 'Nikita Makenzie' Speechless; he looked to Bakura for an explanation.

"I walked around the city all day checking the cemeteries." Bakura wore a proud smile upon his face. "You seemed so tied up in finding your father, so I thought I'd take it upon myself to find your mother for you using the information that you told me last night and during previous conversations."

Kaiba crouched down to get a closer look at the gravestone. The date of death displayed was the exact date that Mokuba had been born with her age just being twenty-two which fitted in with what he had learnt from his uncle about her being a teenage mother when he had been born. The inscription below read 'Loving wife and mother of two'. Not knowing what to say Kaiba covered his mouth with his hand in disbelief. Out of all the times he had tried to find her and failed Bakura seemed to have found her so easily.

"I checked with the grounds-man and her grave was transferred here six years ago." Bakura added quietly.

"Ryou." Kaiba's voice shook as he spoke. "I…I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." Bakura placed his hand on Kaiba's shoulder to comfort him. He didn't need to hear any words he knew how grateful Kaiba was.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen****  
**  
Kaiba was sitting at his desk in his office at Kaiba Corp, but for once he wasn't working. His organiser was open on his desk as he turned the pages and put a line through all of his appointments for the rest of the week. One of his clients had just postponed their meetings; as they were unable to fly out due to a terrorism threat, they had rescheduled the meetings for a later date. Normally, Kaiba would have been furious, at this even though it was a problem that his client had no control over, but these days he just thought about all the extra time that he'd be able to spend with Bakura instead. The two of them had only been apart for the hours that they had been working during the day, but somehow it seemed like days since they had been able to spend time together, which in fact was just last night.

Kaiba's cell phone rang, and the display told him that it was Bakura calling. "I was just thinking about you," Kaiba said happily as he crossed off the last meeting that was to be rearranged.

"You were?" Bakura's voice sounded surprised.

"I've just had a client postpone our meetings for this week until later, which means that I've got more free time for the two of us to spend together for the rest of this week, so if there's anything in particular that you want to do just let me know and I can make arrangements," Kaiba said, rambling a little and holding his pen ready to take notes for any places or activities that Bakura had in mind.

"That sounds great," Bakura replied, but there was a pause in his speech. "But I'm afraid that we won't be able to do anything together during that time, as the team have decided to drive up to the mountains to sketch on location."

"Oh," Kaiba said disappointedly. He hadn't even thought that Bakura would be asked to travel away to draw scenery for the game company. "Never mind, there's always the weekend to plan out," he added cheerfully.

There was silence for a brief moment. "Actually, we'll be away for at least a week." There was another pause before Bakura felt the need to blurt out an apology. "I'm sorry, but I've got no control over this."

"That's okay," Kaiba assured him, dropping his pen on his desk in disappointment. "These things happen. Maybe some other time?"

"Yeah." Bakura said sadly as shouting could be heard in the background. "I have to go now, I'm holding them up. Please take care of yourself while I'm away."

Kaiba looked at his cell phone as the line went dead. He sighed and placed the cell phone on his desk. Now what was he supposed to do? He thought about signing up for the Duel Monsters tournament after all, but still decided against it, as things would probably be back to normal by the end of next week and he wouldn't have time to participate for the whole thing.

Clicking on the mouse, Kaiba brought up a screen on his computer monitor which displayed the name of a patient he had been researching in the search for his father. He stared at the name, Kenbroath Makenzie, for a short while before he jotted down the address that he had for him and set off to investigate further.

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The address that Kaiba had was in the next city over and it took him a good couple of hours to find the right place. He looked up at the apartment block that towered overhead in front of him and made his way up to find the door that he needed.

When he was standing outside of the correct address he was beginning to have second thoughts. He hadn't planned anything out, what was he supposed to do, knock on the door and introduce himself as the guy's long lost son? He'd think of something when the time came, he told himself, which had better be soon as he found himself knocking on the door and not realising that he was doing so.

As the lock unbolted and door handle turned, Kaiba felt his heart-rate increase and his stomach swimming with nerves. The door opened to reveal a young woman standing there. "May I help you?"

"I... erm..." Kaiba stuttered, and he cursed in his mind for doing so. "I'm looking for a mister Kenbroath Makenzie."

"You'd better not let him hear you call him by his full name," the young woman laughed. "It's just Ken."

"Can I speak with him?" Kaiba added as the ditzy woman just continued to laugh.

"He's not here at the moment," the woman replied, shaking her head and opening the door wider. "But if you'd like to come in and wait for him, you're welcome to do so."

Kaiba froze, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to seem rude and so decided to enter; besides, it would have been a shame to have spent all that time searching for his father only to chicken out at the last possible minute.

"I've seen you some place before," the dark-haired woman said as she closed the door and bolted it again. "Are you on TV?"

"Not if I can help it," Kaiba replied with a weak smile. His nerves were beginning to get the better of him, and he felt extremely uncomfortable as the woman continued to stare at him.

"You wouldn't happen to be Seto Kaiba, would you?" she asked as she managed to put a name to his face.

"Looks like I don't have to introduce myself," Kaiba said nervously.

"Cool!" the young woman exclaimed. "I mean, I'm Suki, a friend of the family. I'm just looking after the place until they get back from vacation in a little while." She introduced herself, squeezed past Kaiba and led him down the hall.

"Will they be long?" Kaiba asked as he followed Suki.

"Nah, they're due back anytime now," Suki said as she closed a door that was open off the hall. "They're in the middle of redecorating at the moment, and I know that they'd hate for me to entertain guests in there, so it looks like we're restricted to the kitchen and dining area for now," she explained as they entered the kitchen. "Drink?"

"I'll have whatever you're having," Kaiba answered, again not wanting to seem rude, and seated himself on one of the stools that were there.

"Okay," Suki smiled as she pulled a bottle of white wine from the refrigerator and then two glasses from the shelf where they stood and placed them down in front of Kaiba. "So tell me, what's your business with Ken?" she asked as she poured the wine into the glasses.

"That would be between him and me," Kaiba replied bluntly and took a sip from the glass. He didn't want her to bombard him with questions, so he thought he'd keep her busy talking about other things. "I'm sure you know more about me than just my name, so why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"Really?! You want to know more about me?" Suki seemed rather overexcited about the whole thing.

"Sure, why not." Kaiba had trouble forcing a smile on to his face. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Well let's see, where to start?" Suki held up her fingers and started pointing to each one in turn as she stated a fact about herself. "My name is Suki Hanamura, I'm twenty-one, I work in a Sales office, my favourite colour is …………"

Kaiba downed the rest of his wine whilst Suki continued to ramble on. Asking her about herself had been a big mistake after all, as her voice irritated him to no end. He poured himself another glass of wine and prayed that the Makenzies would return soon.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Kaiba awoke the next morning with a slight throbbing pain to his head. He found himself in a strange bed in a strange room and couldn't remember what had happened the previous night. He knew that he had been waiting for Kenbroath Makenzie to return from vacation and had downed a couple of drinks whilst he sat waiting, listening to the annoying voice of the young woman who was watching over the apartment during Makenzie's absence. But he'd been waiting for hours and Makenzie still hadn't returned, so what had he done since?

He looked around the boring bland room, which was typical of some of the hotels he had stayed in, and figured that since he had consumed alcohol during the time he had been waiting it had been far safer to rent a room for the night rather than drive back to Domino in an unstable condition. His clothes were piled in a heap on the floor on the opposite side of the bed where he had been sleeping and he found himself totally naked under the covers, which was strange, as he very rarely slept naked, even in his own home.

As he reached across to retrieve his clothes, the room door began to open and startled him. Quickly, Kaiba made sure that he was covered up and was prepared to give the hotel's maid a piece of his mind for entering a room without first checking to see if there was still anyone in there, but he was surprised by just who he saw standing in the doorway.

"Morning, sleepy head, or should I say afternoon?" Suki greeted him with a smile on her face, her dark hair hanging loose down past her shoulders and wearing a very small silk robe. She walked right up to the bed, crawled across next to Kaiba and placed her lips against his.

Suki's entrance had sent Kaiba into a mild shock, and he froze, unable to take in the situation. He felt his lips being caressed by the young woman's and swiftly but gently pushed her away.

"What's wrong?" Suki asked, looking puzzled and upset.

"Last night," was all that Kaiba could manage to say as he struggled to find his voice. His mind was racing as he tried to remember but couldn't. He didn't want to ask but needed to know; "What happened?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Suki asked as she slowly began to pull back the covers and attempted to position herself on top of Kaiba. "We could do it again to refresh your memory."

"Get off me!" Kaiba snarled as he took hold of Suki with both hands and threw her across the bed. The anger in his voice was not aimed at her, but at himself. He pulled the covers back over his naked and vulnerable self.

"That's not what you said last night... quite the opposite, in fact." There was a sly smile upon Suki's face as she clambered off the bed and retrieved her own clothes from the floor at the bottom of the bed.

"Whatever happened last night, it was a mistake," Kaiba explained as calmly as he could, sensing that Suki had been using her smiling face to cover up the fact that she was hurting inside from the rejection he'd just shown her. Using one emotion to block out another was something he'd done a lot of himself in the past. "I wasn't feeling or acting myself."

"Oh, I know what this is." Suki laughed as she stood with her back to him and removed the robe to reveal the curves of her naked body. She put on her underwear, then pulled up her skirt and fastened it around her waist. "You're not the first one-night stand that I've had, and you certainly won't be the last." She finished doing up the buttons on her blouse, and a smirk appeared on her face as she approached Kaiba again. "I had fun last night, and I know that you did too, but I just want you to know that if you do anything to upset my father I'll make sure that last night comes back to haunt you." Her voice had changed into a snarl by the end of her warning.

"Your father?" Kaiba asked, confused. The woman standing before him at the moment was not the same annoying, ditzy woman that he had encountered yesterday. Had she been putting on an act in order to seek some kind of revenge against him?

"Kenbroath Makenzie," Suki hissed as she made herself as threatening as possible towards Kaiba. "The man whose life you ruined when he was fired from your company's factory four years ago."

Ignoring the name of her father, Kaiba thought back to just what mess of Gozaburo's he was now being blamed for. Four years ago? That had been around the time when he had taken over Kaiba Corp and changed the type of company that had been left to him. "That was unavoidable but necessary," he sighed, as he remembered that one of the first things he had done was close down all of the factories that produced weapons and machines for Kaiba Corp.

"So that makes it okay, does it?!" Suki exclaimed furiously at Kaiba's reply.

Kaiba just glared at Suki, knowing that he didn't have to give her any kind of explanation for his actions. He had changed Kaiba Corp into the technology-based company that it was today in order to stop all the wrongdoing that had gone on before him. There was no way that he was going to be connected to the wars and destruction that had been caused by Gozaburo's weapons and machines. It was true that they had been built with the intent to be used as defence against attacking forces, but many of the weapons produced ended up in the wrong hands and were used to fuel wars between extremist groups. There was enough pain and suffering in the world already without Kaiba Corp contributing to it.

There was a loud bang as the front door of the apartment closed and two voices could be heard. "They're back," Suki said calmly. "I'll go out first and cover for you by saying that you're using the bathroom." She walked around the bed and picked up Kaiba's clothes. "I wonder if you can get dressed as fast as you undress?" she sneered as she threw them to him.

Having caught the clothes thrown at him, Kaiba watched Suki leave the room. The door closed and Kaiba let out a deep breath as he recalled the name of Suki's father. He hoped that she had been lying, which seemed possible and most likely to him, because if she hadn't then he could of just committed one of the most terrible crimes of all: incest.

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Suki made her way down the hall and into the dining area where she saw her father and younger sister putting down their cases. "Daddy! Keiko!" she squealed at the top of her voice and held her arms open to greet them.

"Suki!" the smaller dark haired girl squealed back as she raced into her sister's arms and tight embrace. In her hand Keiko held her favourite toy, Minty, which was a green-bodied pony with pink hair and three mint candies on its rear. Keiko's blue-grey eyes danced with joy and happiness as she looked up at her big sister. "There was a horse that whistled when it neighed and the instructor let me call her Thistle Whistle." She burst out into a fit of giggles.

"Err, that's great," Suki smiled back, not sure what to say. She watched her pony-obsessed sister run off into the kitchen area as she walked over to greet her father. "So I take it that you had a good time?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Your sister did, but I think that this saddle- sore is going to give me grief for the next couple of weeks." Ken replied as he pulled out of the embrace to rub his lower back and rear regions, his face wrinkled as he smiled. The sound of a toilet flushing was carried down the hall and he turned to his daughter. "Who's that?"

_# Seto awoke from his sleep in a panic as he cried out for his deceased mother._

_"Shh." His father sat on the bed beside him, one arm cradled a sleeping baby Mokuba while the other hand softly stroked Seto's head. The warm, gentle, kind, loving gaze from his father's face soon calmed Seto and he closed his eyes to sleep again. #  
_  
"You had a visitor arrive for you just a short while ago," Suki explained as Kaiba appeared from the hall in a bit of a daze. She turned to him and was surprised that he had managed to redress so quickly, a sly smile appeared on her face. "I've been keeping him entertained for you."

Ignoring her completely, Kaiba held out his hand and extended it to the older man. "Seto Kaiba." He glanced at Ken and noticed the blue-grey eyes on the smiling wrinkled face and the greying brown hair on top of his head. There was no doubt about it; this man was definitely his father. "May we talk in private?"

"Sure, just come right through." Ken led him towards the door that Suki had closed the previous night. He opened it and sent Kaiba through before he turned back to his daughters who were standing behind the kitchen counter. "You two stay here and be nice to each other," he warned them before he too entered the room.

Suki had been wearing an innocent smile, which faded as soon as her father's back was turned. She reached out across the counter and stole the glass of lemonade that her sister had just finished pouring. "Hey!"

Now that he was inside the room, Kaiba could see why Suki had kept him out the night before; family photos were spread out all around the room. If he had seen these then, she wouldn't have had any chance of playing her twisted game. "Is this the whole family?" he asked as he reached out and picked up a photo that stood in the middle of a display cabinet.

The photo showed Ken with his arm around a beautiful, dark-haired woman. In front of them were two dark-haired girls, one he recognised as a younger Suki, the other barely older than a toddler. It was a very strange feeling to think of his father having another family. Surely he couldn't have expected his father to have stopped living his own life, could he?

"Yeah," Ken replied, smiling as he thought back to when the photo had been taken. "That's my wife Megumi. She's been dead for the past couple of years now." He pointed to the woman next to him.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Kaiba knew that it was the right thing to say, but in reality he didn't care at all.

"You've already met my eldest, Suki." Ken continued to point to the people in the photo.

Kaiba's stomach whirled round at hearing that Suki had been telling the truth. But it couldn't be possible, she was older than him, he'd of know if he had an older sister, even a half-one. It just didn't add up.

"She's actually my stepdaughter, but I've always thought of her as my own," Ken added.

Kaiba no longer felt the urge to be sick as much, since now he knew that neither of them shared any blood relation. It had still been wrong, what had happened between them, but at least he could relax a little knowing that he hadn't slept with his sister.

"And that's my youngest, Keiko," Ken pointed to the small girl. "She recently turned five. The horse riding vacation we've just returned from was a special treat for her birthday."

"She reminds me of someone I know." Kaiba smiled as he looked at the young girl with black hair and blue-grey eyes. If he hadn't known who she was he could have easily mistaken her for Mokuba. "She has your eyes."

Ken slowly took back the photo from Kaiba and viewed him carefully. It was a very strange remark for a guy to make, especially one who he didn't know. "Just what was it you wanted?"

Wanted? Kaiba had to think fast, just what was he supposed to say? "My company's records show that you used to work for my step-father before he died." He hoped that this story would be believable. "You suffered from a serve case of amnesia prior to you starting employment with the company, and during your time there never once received the proper care and treatment that you were entitled to as a Kaiba Corp employee."

"So what?" Ken looked slightly confused. "You've come here to offer me it now?"

Kaiba was now regretting not having thought the whole thing through before he had turned up the previous day. He should have listened to Bakura when he tried to tell him to think things through before he ……….Bakura? Kaiba was beginning to feel sick again. Why hadn't he thought about him until now, and just how was he supposed to explain everything that had gone on?

"If that's the case, then you can forget it," Ken laughed, causing Kaiba to snap back to what was happening. "You don't have to do this because of the guilt you feel your father has burdened upon you. I'm on medication and dealing fine with it now. Thank you for your kind offer, but I have to decline."

Offer? What offer? It took Kaiba a moment to realise that Ken had fallen for his false story. "Well then, I guess I had better be leaving now." He forced a weak smile to hide the fact that his real father hadn't recognised or wanted anything to do with him, but what hurt him most was hearing his own father refer to Gozaburo as his father. "It was a pleasure to meet you." He turned and left without waiting for anyone to show him out. Not once did he look back; the whole thing had been one big disaster.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

After returning home, Kaiba just sat on the couch in the living room with the television turned on, not paying much attention to it. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours. If he hadn't gone looking for his father, then none of the events would have happened and he wouldn't hate himself so much right now. Why had he been so desperate to try and find his father?

_Why? Because you're scared of being alone in this life,_ he told himself, admitting to his biggest fear. _But you're not alone, you have Ryou._ Kaiba's thoughts turned to what would happen if Bakura ever found out about what he and Suki had done. Would he be angry? Forgive him? Walk out?

Kaiba's cell phone rang and he checked the display; Ryou. "Hey," he answered, trying to sound cheerful.

"What's up?" Bakura's voice sounded suspicious. "You sound too cheery."

"Aren't I allowed to sound happy at hearing your voice?" Kaiba asked, and in his mind he cursed the fact that Bakura knew he was covering up something.

"I guess so," Bakura admitted. "But I know you put on an act when something's bothering you."

Sighing, Kaiba knew that Bakura wouldn't give up until he got some kind of explanation out of him. "I went to see my father," he breathed out heavily.

"Not good, huh?" Bakura asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea to contact him again." Kaiba didn't want to go into details, especially about last night. "He's got a whole new life that doesn't involve me."

"Are you sure? I know how much you wanted him to be back in your life again." Bakura was using his sympathetic and encouraging tone of voice.

"Just forget it!" Kaiba snapped; the last thing he wanted was to be encouraged to return there and face Suki again. He felt a lump in his throat, knowing for certain that Bakura would be hurt if he ever found out about what had happened. "You're all that I need." He was amazed with himself at how easily he had admitted it. Or had he just said it to stop Bakura from asking more? Either way there was a silence on the line that made him feel slightly uncomfortable. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, thanks." Bakura sounded happy, and none the wiser to the fact that Kaiba was hiding something from him. "The scenery here is breathtaking, and the rest of the team are really friendly. This has got to be the best job I'll ever have, but the only downside is being away from you."

"It's only for a couple more days, and then you'll be back home." Kaiba smiled happily at hearing Bakura say that he missed him. He missed Bakura too and just wanted to hold him near right now, which was sure to help him forget about everything else.

"Yeah, about that," Bakura said slowly and nervously, sure that Kaiba wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "The team's planning on going to the coast once we're finished here." He braced himself, ready for Kaiba's protests, but they didn't come. "Seto?"

Bakura looked at his cell phone, saw that he had lost the signal and had just been talking to a dead line. "Bollocks!" he muttered as he jumped up from where he sat on his hotel bed and ran out into the hall to try and pick up the signal again.

"Hey Bakura!" a couple of guys and a woman from his team shouted after him as he headed away from them. Bakura stopped and doubled back to see what they wanted. "We're going into town for a night out, you wanna come?" asked the woman.

"No thanks," Bakura answered, eager to phone Kaiba back.

"Aww, he's missing his sweetheart," the bigger of the two guys teased.

Bakura began to blush at the comment, which happened to be true. He had mentioned to the other members of the team that he was in a relationship, but not wanting to be outcast by his sexuality, and until he got to know them better, he failed to tell them that his other half was Kaiba.

"He can still have a little fun." The second guy came and stood next to Bakura, giving him a nudge which was followed by a wink. "She won't find out anything from me."

Turning even redder, Bakura shook his head at being encouraged to go out and sleep with someone else. "I can't do that."

"Why not?" The guy sounded surprised by Bakura's response. "She's probably out having her own fun."

"Not my sweetheart." Bakura beamed and set off down the hall again in search of a better signal in order to call Kaiba back.

The group of three watched him go. "That's one lovesick kid," they all agreed.

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Kaiba was sitting in the back of his limo when his cell phone rang. Without looking, he answered it. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Bakura's voice asked.

"No," Kaiba replied. "I've just left Kaiba Corp and I have a few minutes to spare before..." He couldn't bring himself to say any more as he glanced down at the two bouquets of white flowers that sat on the seat next to him.

"I really wish that I could be there with you right now." Bakura's voice was sad as he was unable to be with Kaiba on the day that would have been Mokuba's thirteen birthday.

"Well, you're not, are you?" Seto muttered bitterly at the fact that Bakura's work commitments were keeping the two of them apart. He wondered if this was the same way that Mokuba had felt towards him during all those times that he had been working long hours for his company.

"You know that there's nothing that I can do about it," Bakura protested at the cold tone that he had received from Kaiba. "I'm not in charge of things like you are, and I can't come running home anytime I please."

"I know," Kaiba sighed, not in the mood for an argument with Bakura. "Once I get to the cemetery I won't be on my own, as the three of us will be there."

"The three of you?" Bakura asked, puzzled, and then realised what Kaiba was talking about. "Oh Seto, you didn't, did you?" There was no reply. "I thought we agreed that moving your mother's grave would be disrespectful."

"It would have been more disrespectful to leave her where Gozaburo moved her," Kaiba snapped and fought back the anger that was starting to build up inside him. "This way she and Mokuba are together." He looked out of the widow. "I'm there now so I'll speak with you later," and he ended Bakura's call.

Kaiba threw his head back, closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He listened to the car horns that sounded outside from the traffic jam that he was stuck in and felt slightly bad for lying to Bakura to end the call early. But if he hadn't done so, then he surely would have ended up arguing with him. Just lately it seemed like every time that Bakura called it was only to tell him the bad news that they would be apart from each other even longer, which was really starting to make Kaiba angry and doubt if he and Bakura were ever meant to be together.

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"Have you found them, dear?" Ros asked as she watched Kaiba race around the mansion looking for his car keys.

Not saying anything, Kaiba just glared at his maid for asking such a dumb question. Of course he hadn't found them, if he had would he still be running around like an idiot with his tie hanging down, shirt un-tucked at one side and no shoes on?

"Guess not," Ros said quietly to herself as she continued to carry on with her chores for the day, leaving Kaiba to storm off like a whirlwind.

Kaiba tucked his shirt in as he came down the stairs. After checking his office once more and still no luck at finding his keys he decided that he would have no other choice but to call for his limo instead. He took out his cell phone and was about to dial when Bakura's name flashed on the screen. "Don't tell me, you're going to another location and don't know how long it will be before you come home?" he spoke as he balanced his cell phone between his shoulder and ear while he sorted out his tie and shirt collar.

"I'm sorry, but ……." was all Bakura was able so say before Kaiba cut him off.

"You're always sorry!" Kaiba snapped as he forced his right foot into his shoe, only to have something stab at his toes. He tipped the shoe up and saw his car keys fall out from it. _What the hell were they doing in there?_ "I'm late for a meeting, we'll talk later," he said curtly before hanging up.

Bakura looked down at his phone and felt upset about the way Kaiba had spoken to him. He didn't like the fact that the two of them were apart either -- it was going on four weeks now -- but you didn't see him complaining about it. Well, not out loud, anyway.

"You had a fallout with your sweetheart?" Bakura heard one of the guys on the team call out to him across the way from where he sat having breakfast. He looked back at him with a blank expression. "Never mind, she'll either get used to it or do you a favour and move on. One thing you'll soon learn is that girls will come and go." The guy began to laugh with another team member.

_No, they won't,_ Bakura told himself angrily. _There will always be plenty of jobs out there, but only ever one Kaiba._ He got up from his seat and made his way back to his room.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

The meeting was over and Kaiba was now on his way back to Domino. He grumbled to himself as he drove, complaining about how his client had left him waiting for nearly an hour when he had gone out of his way to meet outside of his company's building, not to mention rushing around like a lunatic to make sure that he was on time for the meeting after having lost his car keys. One good thing that had come out of the experience was that he knew never to deal with these people again; he wasn't prepared to associate himself or his company with such poor business practices.

Kaiba honked his horn angrily as a drunk stumbled out onto the road in front of him. He waited impatiently for the swaying old man to move out of his way and then continued through the run down part of town that he was driving through in order to make sure that he stayed clear of the area where his father lived. He was tempted to try a second attempt at contacting his father again, but after last time he thought it better to forget the whole thing and move on.

Most of the buildings in the area were covered with graffiti and many had boarded-up windows. Small gangs of people blocked the steps leading up to the buildings, many of which were intimidating the elderly residents of the block. Woman hung around on street corners, not bothering to hind the fact that they were clearly prostitutes, and children played in the streets with whatever they could find, which seemed to range from discarded needles to empty liquor bottles.

Kaiba was appalled that anyone could live like this, but he knew that a certain few had no choice, for whatever their reasons may be, and was glad that he would be out of the area after he turned the next corner. He knew that he was one of the lucky ones; no matter what he had experienced in the past, he had never had to deal with ………… He slammed on the brakes.

Lost in his thoughts, Kaiba had almost failed to spot a group of boys running out in front of him, and the car came to a standstill just missing the boy closest to him. The boy raised his middle finger at Kaiba, who let out an angry growl at seeing the gesture, before running off with the rest of the group who were waving something pink and green in the air.

"Stop! Give her back!" came the cries of a small dark-haired girl who ran after the group of older boys.

As she passed by in front of Kaiba's car he could had sworn he'd just seen Mokuba, but knew that that wasn't possible. He then realised that the girl he had seen was Keiko. What was she doing over in a neighbourhood like this on her own? He quickly parked the car, not caring that his tires had rubbed against the sidewalk, and got out to follow after his half sister.

Kaiba entered an alley where he now found the gang of boys crowded round in a circle laughing, and shouting at their defenceless child victim. "Hey!" he yelled at the top of his voice. He was prepared for any of them that might turn violent towards him, but needn't of worried as, like many bullies he'd come across picking on Mokuba, they fled upon seeing him, leaving Keiko sitting huddled on the ground crying. "Did they hurt you?" Kaiba asked her as he came closer and crouched down in front of her.

Keiko continued to cry as she shook her head. Kaiba saw that she was clutching at a headless green-coloured pony whose pink tail was nearly all gone and had several huge slash marks on its body. "She was my favourite," she sobbed.

_# Mokuba sat on the ground crying as Seto handed him a broken aeroplane._

_"Here, Mokie, I got it back for you." Seto's face was beginning to bruise from where he had been hit by the bully who had been picking on his little brother and taken the aeroplane from him. Nobody made his brother cry, and he felt satisfied knowing that the broken fingers of the bully would serve as a reminder for the boy not to do it again._

_"Thank you." Mokuba sniffed and wiped his tear-streaked face. He saw the wings that had been bent in half and looked at his brother. "Dad gave me this plane and now it's broken." He began to cry again._

_"Don't worry, we'll fix it together." Seto bent down and hugged his younger brother; they were all that each other had now. "And when we get out of this dump, I'll buy you a new one." #  
_  
"Come on," Kaiba sighed as he reached out his arms to the little girl who reminded him so much of his brother. He didn't want to go back to the apartment were he had encountered Suki, but he couldn't just leave Keiko where she was. "I'll take you home." Letting go of what was left of her toy, Keiko clung to Kaiba as he carried her back to his car.

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The doorbell of the apartment rang and Kenbroath Makenzie answered it to find his youngest daughter and Kaiba standing there.

"Daddy!" Keiko squealed, throwing her arms in the air; one of them had hold of a green and pink pony plushie. "Look what mister Kaiba bought me!"

"Why aren't you with Hayley and her mother?" Ken asked in surprise at seeing his daughter, whom he had left at her friend's house the previous night.

"We got separated at the park." Keiko replied quietly, not wanting to tell her father that she had been targeted by a gang of boys who stole and destroyed her favourite toy. More happily she continued: "And then mister Kaiba found me and ……"

"Go through to the living room," Ken ordered his daughter before she had the chance to say anymore. "Now!" he barked when Keiko just looked at him blankly and blinked. Hew watched her slowly creep away and made sure she was out of sigh before he turned on Kaiba. "I don't know what you're playing at, but you'd better leave my daughter alone," he said in a threatening voice. "I saw the way you were looking at her in the photo the last time you were here."

Kaiba's eyes widened at the accusation being made against him. "Are you trying to suggest something?" he asked. If only the man standing in front of him knew the truth, then he'd see that what Kaiba had done didn't indicate that he had a thing for young girls. He was only met with a more threatening narrowed glare which he managed to mirror perfectly. "You're lucky that I found her first," Kaiba said, and then left.

Ken closed the door and was relieved that the situation hadn't gotten out of control. He breathed heavily a couple of times as he vanquished all of the worse scenarios from his mind. His little girl was home and safe and that's what mattered; he'd worry about Kaiba's behaviour another time.

"Is there something wrong?" Suki asked as she came out from the living room with her sister hiding behind her.

"What have I told you about strangers?!" Ken tried to speak calmly to Keiko but found it hard not to raise his voice.

"But mister Kaiba isn't a stranger, I've seen him before." Keiko replied. Her voice was muffled by the plushie half covering her face as she hugged it.

"You don't know him!" Ken couldn't stop himself from shouting with frustration. He reached out and snatched away the plushie which Kaiba had used to gain his daughter's trust. "He could have hurt you!"

"B-b-but …." Keiko stuttered, her lip trembling and eyes filling up. She didn't want to tell her father about the boys who had been teasing her, and ran to her room as she began to cry.

"Do you really think that he would have done something to her?" Suki asked, watching her upset sister take off from behind her.

"I don't know what to think," Ken sighed as he threw the plushie on to the dining counter; he hadn't meant to make his little girl cry. "I better call Hayley's mother and let her know that Keiko is here." He went in to the living room to make the call from their landline phone.

Suki stared at the plushie that lay on the counter in front of her; its lavender eyes stared back at her. "I warned him," she muttered to herself.

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Kaiba parked his car outside of his mansion and remained in there for a while once the engine was turned off. His day hadn't been going so well for him and he knew that if he could turn back time, he would erase everything and start the day over. Then he changed his mind; if he could turn back time, then he'd make sure that Bakura never got the job for the games company in the first place, that way they'd still be together now. Heck, if it were possible to turn back time, he'd go back a lot further into his past, but how far? He snapped out from his thoughts and exited the car.

When he entered his mansion, Kaiba could hear loud music coming from the kitchen at the back. He could tell from the sound of the music and beat that it was an eighties song. A voice began to sign along, and it wasn't Ros' like he had been expecting, as she did this kind of thing all of the time, so Kaiba quietly approached the kitchen, peered around the door which was slightly ajar, and was amazed at what he saw.

"I want forever to be you and I, That's the way it should be. I live for you and baby that is why, I cry just a little bit. Cry just a little bit," Bakura sang happily as he bounced around in front of the stove, stirring several saucepans that were simmering away, before he returned to the counter where he was half way through filling balls of Chou pastry with cream. "Every night we have to whisper goodbye, I cry just a little bit. I know it's crazy and I don't know why but I die just a little ……….. Seto!" he jumped and stopped singing at seeing Kaiba appear from behind the door.

Unable to hide his joy at seeing Bakura, Kaiba's face broke into a smile. "What are you doing here?" he asked excitedly as he stopped the CD player, cutting off the eighties Welsh pop star who continued to carry on singing.

"It was meant to be a surprise." Bakura smiled back. He hoped Kaiba wouldn't mind the fact that he'd told Ros to finish early for the day.

"Well, it's certainly that." Kaiba smiled as he came right up to the counter and stood opposite Bakura. He wanted to reach across and embrace the white haired boy, but restrained himself. "So you just made up your latest site-seeing trip as an excuse to surprise me for your return home?"

"No, the team really are visiting caverns," Bakura said as he piped cream into more of the small Chou balls. "I caught the first plane back here after telling them I quit."

"You quit?" Kaiba asked, and was confused as he knew just how much Bakura loved the job; so why would he give it up? "When?" His hand wandered across the counter top and landed on one of the pastry balls that Bakura had just filled with cream.

"This morning, right after I called you," Bakura replied, nodding, and then noticed what Kaiba was doing. "Hands off my profiteroles!" He went to knock Kaiba's hand away but was too late.

"Cream puffs." Kaiba mumbled with his mouth full and watched Bakura roll his eyes. He swallowed the whole thing and asked; "Why?"

"I got homesick," Bakura said quietly as he finished what he was doing, his checks starting to burn bright red.

At seeing Bakura turn red, Kaiba felt rather smug with himself as he knew that he was the reason that Bakura had given up his job. He had always been the one making sacrifices in life, most of them for his brother, and to have someone else make one for him made him feel wanted, like he had a reason for living. He cared for Bakura dearly, but would he ever be able to tell him just how much?

"Now go, sit down and relax while I finish dinner." Bakura waved Kaiba away as he returned to the saucepans on the stove.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Kaiba said, thinking back on the day he had had, and he snatched another cream puff before he left the kitchen to change out of his business suit.

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Together they huddled on the couch as they watched a film on the television. Kaiba sat slumped in the corner with Bakura lying next to him, his head resting on Kaiba's chest. The film had just ended and the credits were rolling. Kaiba could feel a damp patch forming on his top. "It's just a film," he said, running his fingers through Bakura's long white hair.

"But it was so touching." Bakura sniffed and wiped the watery tears away from his eyes. "The way that they were prepared to do anything to be together, even if it meant their own deaths."

"It's still not worth crying over." Kaiba laughed in return and stopped playing with Bakura's hair as he moved to stare up at him.

"What would make you cry?" Bakura asked innocently.

_Losing you,_ was Kaiba's first thought, but not wanting to answer the question out loud and confess this to Bakura he turned his attention back to the television screen, which was now showing that Espa Roba had won the Duel Monsters tournament. He knew that if he and Yugi, or even Joey for that matter, had entered then the smug green hair boy staring back at him wouldn't have stood a chance of being declared champion.

Bakura sighed a little as he reached across to take the remote from Kaiba and turn the television to stand-by. Despite the fact that he had been able to get Kaiba to open up to him over the time they'd been together, he knew that Kaiba would never be totally honest with him about his true feelings, and knew that he would just have to learn to live with it. After all, if Kaiba had changed too much from how he use to be then the thing that first attracted Bakura to him would be lost. He pushed himself up a little so that his lips were level with Kaiba's and softly kissed them, luring Kaiba to do the same in return.

The kiss was returned by Kaiba, slightly firmer than but still as gentle as always, both could taste the sweetness of the chocolate and cream on each others lips from the profiteroles that they had devoured earlier that evening. Slowly Bakura pulled away, leaving Kaiba slightly disappointed that the moment of bliss had come to an end.

"Seto, I realised something whilst I was away." Bakura looked directly into Kaiba's deep blue eyes as he spoke. "This may come as a bit of a shock to you, as we haven't been together long, and most of that time we've been apart but…… I love you."

Kaiba's eyes grew wider in surprise from what he had heard. He knew that Bakura cared for him, just like he cared for Bakura, but he had never expected to hear the words 'I love you' spoken to him. Feeling the same, he wanted to say them back, but couldn't. "Ryou, I …I……" he stuttered, staring into Bakura's big brown eyes, and sensed minor disappointment at his inability let the words pass his own lips.

"It broke my heart not being able to see you each day," Bakura said as he learned closer and kissed Kaiba once more, this time more passionately as his tongue slowly found its way into Kaiba's mouth for the first time, his hand moved between Kaiba's legs and fumbled for the zipper on his pants. He broke the kiss and seductively whispered into Kaiba's ear; "I'm ready."

Slightly bewildered at what was happening, Kaiba stared into Bakura's eyes, wanting to make sure that it was what Bakura truly wanted and that he wasn't under the control of any more evil spirits. The eyes that stared back longingly at him where those of his Ryou, kind and full of love for him. Kaiba smiled and gently moved Bakura off him so that he could lead them somewhere more comfortable for the night ahead.


	21. Chapter 21

**For those of you reading and following this I am sorry about the delay in updating.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and comments that I receive. **

**In my absence I have aquired the rights to ... nah just kidding I still don't own Yugioh! ****  
**

**Chapter Twenty-one**

The morning light woke Bakura the next day as he lay next to Kaiba. The two of them were cuddled up in Kaiba's bed, both naked under the covers that draped over them. Bakura could feel the warm body heat given off from Kaiba's chest, which was pressed up close against his back. He turned slightly onto his back, careful not to disturb his sleeping lover, whose arm rested on him, and for a short while just lay watching Kaiba as he slept peacefully. A soft smile appeared on Bakura's face as he stared at the brunet with slightly scruffy hair, and tried to recall the last time he had felt this happy although he knew there had never been one.

The display of the digital alarm clock could be seen over Kaiba's shoulder, and even though it was still quite early it wasn't an unreasonable time to get up. And what could be a better way to be woken up than by breakfast in bed? A mischievous smile flickered briefly onto Bakura's face as he remembered one of the things he'd done to Kaiba last night, but he'd save that for another morning wake-up call.

After kissing Kaiba softly before he slowly wriggled away, Bakura reached down for his pants that lay on the floor beside the bed and pulled them on before doing the same with his shirt. He glanced back to make sure that he hadn't woken Kaiba, and then quietly crept downstairs.

"Good morning, master Ryou," Ros greeted him as he entered the kitchen. "Sleep well?"

"Very well, thank you," Bakura replied, and couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"Was master Seto surprised to see you?" Ros asked, probing him for more information.

"He sure was." Bakura passed straight by her and began to start taking out pans from the kitchen cupboards. "And I plan to surprise him even more with breakfast in bed." He opened the refrigerator and scanned for the ingredients that he'd need.

"Let me do that, dear," Ros said as she took the butter from Bakura and gently shooed him away. "You just sit down."

Bakura went and sat down on a stool by the counter as he watched Ros take over preparing breakfast. He still wasn't used to having things done for him, but decided not to argue with her that he had wanted to do breakfast himself. A newspaper was folded up on the counter in front of him and he unfolded it to read and pass the time whilst he waited for Ros to finish making breakfast. He'd only read a few pages when he called out to the maid. "Ros, have you seen this?"

"Seen what, dear?" Ros replied, placing a pan of hollandaise sauce to one side, and walked over to a shocked looking Bakura to peer down at the newspaper pages he held open. She scanned the text quickly with widened eyes and looked at Bakura. "I wouldn't believe everything that you read; the media loves to cause trouble, and even master Seto can't escape being targeted." She tried to reassure the young man, but was having similar doubts that she was sure he too was thinking.

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Carefully, Bakura balanced the tray on one hand as he opened the door to Kaiba's room. Despite his efforts, he failed to stop the orange juice from spilling a little onto the eggs Benedict, but managed to miss the newspaper completely. He saw Kaiba still lying in bed as he entered the room. Quietly, he approached the bed so as not to wake him just yet and placed the breakfast tray down on the bedside table.

"So that's where you disappeared to." Kaiba smiled as he opened his eyes after only pretending to be asleep. "I was beginning to think that last night had been only a dream." He sat up and pulled Bakura close to him so their lips met.

"I just wanted to surprise you again," Bakura said, pulling away from Kaiba's grasp and indicating the tray beside him. He watched as Kaiba began to devour his breakfast and then piped up the courage to say something about the newspaper, which had remained untouched. "There's a really interesting article on page four of today's paper, I think you should take a look." He forced a weak smile onto his face as he saw Kaiba take the newspaper and unfold it.

With the newspaper now resting on the bed, Kaiba took hold of his glass of juice and drank as he turned the pages with his other hand. When he reached page four, the sight of what he saw made him almost choke on his drink, and he couldn't help himself as he coughed and spluttered over the pages. There on the page was a picture of himself under the headline which read: _'My one night stand with a multi-millionaire'_. Suki had spoken out to the media about the one night he regretted, and now it was clear that Bakura knew about it. "This isn't what it looks like," he said, turning to face Bakura.

"Then why the look of panic in your eyes?" Bakura said, trying to keep control of the mixed emotions he felt inside him. He wanted, and was willing to, believe what Ros had told him, but was unconvinced by the reaction he had just witnessed.

"She has some kind of a grudge against me," Kaiba explained, hoping that it would be enough for Bakura to not want to know more; but clearly it wasn't. "I met her when I went looking for my father; she was at his apartment and invited me in to wait for him as he wasn't there."

"Who is she?" Bakura said, folding his arms as he waited for more to be explained to him.

"She told me she was a friend of the family, but I later found out that she is his stepdaughter." He couldn't bear to look at Bakura as he revealed more, hoping that he wouldn't be questioned further.

"So there's no truth to this?" Maybe Ros had been right after all?

"I don't know," Kaiba sighed as he rested his head in his hands. He wanted the conversation to stop.

"How can you not know?!" Bakura exclaimed in frustration. Why couldn't Kaiba just be honest with him for once?

"I'd had too much to drink the night before." Kaiba groaned as he wiped his hands down his face. "One moment I was drinking wine to try and block out her irritating voice and the next thing I knew, I woke up in her bed." He looked at Bakura to see him pacing and shaking his head in disbelief at what he had heard.

"She's your sister." Bakura finally managed to find his voice that had been silenced from the shock of what Kaiba was confessing to him. Although he was remaining calm, there was a hint of anger in his voice towards his lover.

"I didn't know that at the time, and if you want to get technical about it, she'd be my step sister." Kaiba snapped in an irritated tone. "I haven't done anything wrong." Almost instantly he wished he could take back the last words to leave his mouth as he saw Bakura almost explode with hurt at his remark.

Turning away from Kaiba, Bakura could feel the anger stabbing at his heart subside to give way to the heartache for hearing Kaiba say that he hadn't done anything wrong. Kaiba didn't seem to be taking the fact that he'd cheated on him seriously, even if it was a one-off thing that they may be able to put behind them. "Why did you do it?" he asked weakly as he turned back around.

Kaiba remained silent. He had no reply to give other than the fact that he had been drunk at the time, which he knew was still no excuse to use. He watched as Bakura slowly walked back up to the bed, struggling to hold back the hurt he had caused him.

"Are you confused about your sexuality?" Bakura asked, but got no reply to that question either as Kaiba continued to look at him emotionlessly. Then a thought struck him; maybe he was the problem. "Am I not good enough for you?" His eyes began to well up. "Is it because until last night I never let you ……"

"No!" Kaiba stopped Bakura before he could say any more; he didn't want him to blame himself over this. Quickly he scrambled across the bed, letting the covers fall away and leaving him completely exposed, and took hold of Bakura's hands as he stared up into his brown eyes as though he was pleading for forgiveness. "It was just a drunken mistake, I never meant for it to happen or to hurt you."

"It's too late for that," Bakura whispered, and turned his head from Kaiba's gaze. Although it seemed that Kaiba was genuinely sorry about the whole thing, part of him couldn't help but want him too to feel the same kind of hurt that he was feeling at that moment. He glanced down at the open newspaper on the bed and stared at the print which had wedged between the two of them that morning; a highlighted quote stood out to him, and coldly he broke free from Kaiba's grasp. "Look's like you're going to get what you always wanted: _family_."

A pain ran through Kaiba's heart the moment that Bakura's fingers left his touch, which was worsened as he turned and walked away. Here he was, totally exposed both inside and out, and all that the only person he cared about could do was hurt him back? No wonder he had preferred to block out his emotions in the past; it was better not to feel at all than what he was feeling right now. He looked across to the newspaper to try and make sense of Bakura's comment and saw the same highlighted quote, which stated that Suki was carrying his child.

Slowly Kaiba backed up across to his side of the bed. His mind was racing with everything that was happening and getting worse with each moment that went by. And if he was having a hard time taking it all in, then what must Bakura be feeling? He had told him when they first confessed their attractions to each other that he would never hurt him, and yet he had broken that promise. Even if he could somehow sort things out with Bakura, did he really deserve a second chance? What if the spirit of the millennium ring had been right, and he really wasn't capable of loving anyone? You don't hurt those you love, right? But he really cared for Bakura, and to stop himself from hurting him ever again he had to let him go, which was going to have to involve hurting him one last time.

"You were right, that is what I want, not you," Kaiba spoke in a firm voice after he had pulled on his pants and was now fastening up his shirt. His back was still facing Bakura as he stood up and took a deep breath to help him with what he was about to do. Turning around, he saw that Bakura was facing him too and continued with his quickly thought-out plan. "All the time that we were together, I never felt anything for you."

"That's not true and we both know it!" Bakura cried out, now wishing that he had just left off trying to hurt Kaiba back a short moment ago. He knew that it must have worked, as Kaiba was now clearly covering up his emotions just as he had done on many other previous occasions when he began to feel uncomfortable about what he was experiencing.

"Isn't it?" Kaiba struggled to smirk, but managed it somehow. "I'll admit that I was curious about what it would be like to have a relationship with another man, and slaking my lust last night before this revelation was an added bonus." He watched as Bakura struggled to hold back the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes. Why wasn't he walking away from him after what he had just heard? Was Bakura so used to being abused that he actually enjoyed it?

Kaiba attempted once more to push Bakura away from him. "Did you honestly think that I would let you get away with speaking to me the way you did that one time after school?" He now stood hovering over Bakura and staring as harshly as he could at him. This had to work; it had to break them apart. "Most people I would gladly have beaten up to get my revenge, but you, you're different." He raised his hand and forcefully poked at Bakura's head with each word that left his lips. "The way to hurt you is up here."

Bakura knocked away Kaiba's hand as it poked him harder with each word. He stared tearfully into the cold, ice-blue eyes, and for the first time ever, he began to doubt what the two of them had really felt about each other. He tried to find his voice but failed as Kaiba sneered at him; "What other use could I possibly have had for you?" Unable to hold back the tears anymore, Bakura broke down as he backed away from Kaiba and left the room.

A deep sigh of relief escaped from Kaiba once he saw Bakura leave the room. For a moment he had thought that he wouldn't have been able to chase his lover away, but knew that he needed to so that he couldn't hurt him ever again. The pain he felt in his heart didn't matter to him as long as Bakura would be okay without him. He could hear faint sobs coming from Bakura's room as well as the sound of Bakura gathering all his possessions.

Only a few minutes had passed before Bakura reappeared in Kaiba's doorway. The suitcase and backpack that he had arrived with just a few months ago where now repacked and ready for him to leave, but first he had to make sure that that was what he was really supposed to do. His eyes were still red and damp from the tears which had now stopped as he looked straight at Kaiba and waited for a response.

Part of Kaiba wanted to take back everything he had just said and beg for forgiveness, but he knew that he couldn't; he had to let Bakura go. His eyes narrowed coldly at the white-haired boy, who turned and left without saying another word. He followed behind a few seconds later and stood at the top of the staircase as he watched Bakura walk down them, fighting against every urge in his body to call out for him to stop.

"Master Ryou?" Ros asked quietly as she entered the hall bellow. She had heard some of the noise from their loud spoken conversation and was hoping that Bakura would explain what was happening.

Unable to say anything, Bakura smiled sadly in return and glanced back up to Kaiba one last time, who just continued to stare back at him coldly. He reached for the front door, opened it and left.

As the door closed, Kaiba sighed with relief that Bakura had not stayed a moment longer. A single teardrop fell from his eyes as he went back into his room, ignoring the calls from Ros down bellow.

Moments later Kaiba remerged from his room properly dressed and raced down the stairs as he tried to avoid Ros, who was waiting at the bottom for him. "Oh, thank goodness! For a moment, I was beginning to think that you weren't going to go after him," she said.

"I'm not!" Kaiba snapped at his maid and cut her off as she opened her mouth to reply. "For once, why don't you keep your nose out of things that don't concern you, otherwise I really will fire you." He saw her back down from arguing with him and slammed the door as he left.


	22. Chapter 22

**Thanks to Sapphy****TheElf for the review.**

**As always - I don't own Yugioh!**

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** Chapter Twenty-two**

Yugi was looking after his Grandpa's Game shop for the morning while the old man was out. Tea was there helping him behind the counter sorting through the boxes of new stock that had arrived a short while ago. Together they both looked up as their attention was drawn to the shop door as it opened.

"Hi Bakura." Yugi said cheerfully as the white haired boy entered.

With his head looking down and clutching his suitcase and backpack tightly to him, Bakura slowly approached the shop counter. "Yugi, I know it's a lot to ask but, can I stay here for a while?" he mumbled not wanting to make eye contact with the friends he had spoken rudely to the last time they met.

"Is something wrong?" Tea asked sounding concerned.

"I got burned." Bakura muttered glancing up slightly, his eyes were still sore and puffy from the tears he had shed.

"I'll have to clear it with Grandpa when he gets back but I think it'll be okay." Yugi replied feeling glad that Bakura knew he could still turn to them for help when he needed it. "Why don't you take your things upstairs? We'll be down here if you need us."

"Thank you." Bakura looked up and managed to smile weakly to show his thanks before he entered through into the back of the shop to climb the stairs.

"Poor Bakura." Tea said as she watched him disappear up the stairs before turning to Yugi. "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know." Yugi replied thinking the same thing. "Let's just give him a little time to himself before we start asking questions." He saw Tea nod in agreement before they continued to sort through the boxes once more.

"Hey guys, look at this!" Joey shouted as he entered the Game shop waving a rolled up newspaper in his hand.

"Wow! I never knew you could read one of those." Tea exclaimed sarcastically.

"Ha. Ha." Joey glared back. He pushed a couple of the boxes on the counter to one side so that he could open up the newspaper and lay it flat for his friends to see. "Gotta love scandals involving Kaiba."

"That's got to be what's bothering him." Yugi said after reading the page headline.

"Who?" Joey asked confused knowing that he was missing out on something.

"Bakura." Yugi explained and was about to tell Joey that he was upstairs but was interrupted by Tea who had continued scanning the article.

"I'd leave too if I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me." She said and then gasped at seeing further highlighted comments. "And she's pregnant too!" Tea scooped up the newspaper and seated herself comfortably on top of the counter to carry on reading more.

"Poor Bakura." Yugi sighed shaking his head.

"Poor Bakura?!" Joey said loudly surprised at what he was hearing. "Excuse me, but aren't we the ones who tried to warn him that something like this would happen? He'll get no sympathy from me." He folded his arms and leaned back to rest against the wall. "In fact, he owes me an apology."

Tea rolled her eyes at Joey's comment and was about to tell him that he was being a bit harsh when she peered over the top of the pages to see Bakura standing in the doorway behind the counter. "Bakura!" she gasped and tried as best as she could to hide the newspaper behind herself. Her cry made Yugi and Joey spin around.

"It's okay Tea." Bakura assured her that he wasn't offended by her reading the article that had been printed. He turned to Yugi and Joey who were slightly red faced at having been caught talking about him. "I'm sorry. You were right and I was wrong." He said looking directly at Joey before turning to head back upstairs.

"You insensitive moron!" Tea hissed at Joey for his comment that Bakura had clearly overheard.

"Me?!" Joey shot back. "You're the one glued to the article!"

"Stop it you two!" Yugi interrupted and stood between his two friends before things got out of hand. When he saw them both looking calmer he said; "I'll go and check he's okay."

"No, I'll go." Joey said quietly as he grabbed hold of Yugi who was about to follow after Bakura. Yugi nodded in agreement as he saw the look on Joey's face which told him that he intended to apologise to the white haired boy.

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Joey found Bakura huddled up on Yugi's sofa. His arms were wrapped around his knees that were drawn up against his chest as he stared into the empty space in front of him whilst a slow depressive ballad played quietly from the stereo in the room.

"Look, I was just shouting my mouth off like always, I didn't mean what I said." Joey attempted an apology.

"Forget it, its okay." Bakura muttered, his mouth half covered by his knees.

"No it's not okay." Joey said as he reached for the stereo remote and knocked off the song by some British group that he'd never heard of. He wanted Bakura to take him and his apology seriously. "For a while you two happy together and all I did was complain and try to discourage you." He flopped down on to the sofa at the opposite end to Bakura. "Maybe I was jealous of the fact that you two had each other."

Bakura loosened the grip around his knees and looked over to where Joey sat.

"Not that I wanted either of you for myself." Joey added so that his friend wasn't getting the wrong idea that he fancied him for himself. "But the fact that you were closer then friends and …." His sentence trailed off as his thoughts turned to the reality that he had never admitted his true feelings towards Mai and now he may never have the chance to tell her since she had left his life for some time now.

"I think I get what you're trying to say." Bakura said in a more light hearted tone and even managed a smile.

Joey smiled back and was glad that he didn't have to say more as he was lost for the words needed to explain. "I really am sorry that it turned out like this."

"Me too." Bakura said as his smile wavered and more tears began to appear from thinking about Kaiba again. He lowered his face so that his forehead rested on his knees and his hair fell forward like curtains to hide the silent sobs that he was unable to hold back.

Not knowing how to react Joey just watched his friend crying. If it had been Serenity, Tea or Mai sat across from him he would have put his arm around them for comfort and support, but that's not the kind of thing that guys did to each other right?

After a while Bakura sat back and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Last night, I told Seto that I loved him and couldn't live my life without him." He glanced across to Joey who looked bewildered, but then again he shouldn't have expected too much for the blonde to understand how he felt. He turned his attention back to the open space in front of him which was more comfortable than being directly stared at like some kind of freak.

For a moment Joey found it hard to accept that anyone could ever love anything about Kaiba. _It has to be the money_. He told himself but then realised that Bakura wasn't the kind of person who would like someone for such shallow reasons. Or would he?_ Of course not. _He shook his head. There had to of been something really meaningful there for his friend to be so upset like this. "You really are serious about him aren't you?"

Bakura nodded in reply to Joey's question. "At first he seemed really sorry about the whole thing but then he said some horrible things." He didn't mention to Joey that he felt he had caused Kaiba's mood to change after trying to hurt him back.

"That sounds just like Kaiba." Joey laughed to see Bakura staring blankly at him. "Apart from the sorry part." He added but still received a blank expression. Clear that his joking wasn't cheering his friend up Joey switched back to being serious. "Just how much do you love him?"

"More than life itself." Bakura truthfully admitted shying away slightly from Joey's gaze.

"Then what are you doing sitting here?" Joey suddenly demanded with a smile on his face as Bakura jumped with surprise at the energy and excitement in his voice. "Go and show Kaiba that you can be just as stubborn as him."

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A short while later Bakura had returned to Kaiba's mansion and stood waiting for the door to be answered. He was alone with his belongings. That choice had been his as Joey and the others had offered to come along to provide support but he figured that he'd have a better chance of getting Kaiba to talk to him if they were alone, and so kindly reclined from their offer.

The door opened a few inches and a pair of winkled eyes peered around before throwing the door completely wide open. "Master Ryou, you're back!" Ros cried happily as she embraced Bakura before he even stepped over the threshold.

"Yep, can't get rid of me that easily." Bakura laughed as he eased the old maid from him and entered dropping his things on the floor beside him. He looked at Ros whose face was lit up with joy from his return. "I need to speak to Seto." He told her.

"He's not here." Ros replied as the joy started to slowly drain from her happily wrinkled face.

"Where is he?" Bakura asked.

"He's gone." Ros started and took a deep breath before she added. "To her."


	23. Chapter 23

**Thankies for the reviews. **

**I don't own Yugioh! **

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**Chapter Twenty-three**

The doorbell to the Makenzie apartment rang and Suki answered it not too long after. She carefully opened the door just a couple of inches to see an angry blue eye staring back at her. She closed the door again as fast as she could, but was too slow to stop Kaiba from jamming his foot in the gap and trying to force his way in to get at her. "Get out!" she hissed, pushing with all her might against the door.

"Not until I've finished with you," Kaiba growled back and succeeded in overpowering Suki, his hand reaching for her throat as he entered the apartment and pinning her up against the wall.

"My father's just in the other room. I only have to scream and he'll come running," Suki warned in a low voice as she struggled to loosen Kaiba's grip on her, which felt like he was trying to push her into the wall and make her part of it.

"What the hell were you doing, going to the media like that?" Kaiba demanded. He, too, kept a low voice.

"I warned you to leave my father alone, but you didn't listen, did you?" Suki replied back through gritted teeth as she tried to make herself as threatening as possible, despite being pinned against the wall. "You just had to come back the other day--"

"I was bringing your sister home after I found her being bullied by a gang of boys in a rough part of town," Kaiba began to explain, and slightly relaxed his grip around Suki's throat. "Did I really deserve to have my life ruined because of that?"

"Ruined?" A sly smile appeared on Suki's face. Despite the situation she was in, she was glad to learn that she had succeeded in causing some kind of negative impact on Kaiba's life. "Really?" she asked, wanting to know more.

More anger rushed through Kaiba and he increased his grip once more, slamming her head backwards. It was clear to him that Suki was playing some kind of sick and twisted game with him, and he wasn't about to let it go her way. "I hope they paid you well for that stunt, because if you reject my offer of paying for an abortion then you'll need every penny to raise that brat yourself." There was no way he was going to let the child she was carrying enter his life only to remind him of what he had just lost with Bakura. "You've already destroyed my relationship; I won't let you take away everything else I have just because of some stupid mistake."

"Aww, did she leave you because of the article?" Suki jested. "You're lucky that I told them the true version, it would have been just as easy to have cried rape." She took pleasure in seeing the frustration and anger erupt even more in Kaiba's eyes.

"You keep messing with me and I can just as easily make that reality." He threatened, squeezing tighter around her throat.

"You wouldn't dare!" Suki gasped as she struggled for air. She stared back into the chilling blue eyes that were now beginning to make her feel intimidated, and began to wonder if she had bitten off more than she could chew. Then the grip around her throat suddenly disappeared and she found herself on all fours.

Suki looked to her left to see Kaiba slumped against the opposite wall, nursing his face that had blood slowly oozing from a cut above his cheek bone. To her right she saw her father, fists still clenched from striking Kaiba down.

"Go to the living room and stay there," Ken ordered her, with his eyes fixed on Kaiba.

Never before had Suki seen her father look as angry as he did now, and it scared her. She took one last look at Kaiba before scrambling to her feet and heading towards the living room, knowing that a fight would shortly break out between the two men once she had left. Silently, she prayed that her father's anger would give him the advantage over the younger man.

"You disgust me," Ken said as he moved closer to where Kaiba was slumped against the wall. He could see the younger man straightening himself up and delivered a blow to Kaiba's waist which made him gasp and double over in pain. "Using me as an excuse and a way to get to my daughters."

"You've got it all wrong," Kaiba wheezed as he clutched at his front. He had seen the punch coming, and yet hadn't done anything to avoid it. Trying to straighten up was too painful for him, so all he could do was just raise his head and stare back at Ken. "I'm not after either of them."

More anger rushed through Ken's body at Kaiba's reply. He didn't know how Kaiba had the nerve to say that. Suki was now pregnant, he'd just witnessed Kaiba threaten to rape her and he didn't even want to think about what might have happened to Keiko. He stuck out again and hit Kaiba across the head, knocking him down to his knees.

"And don't think you'll ever see the baby once it's born," he growled before kicking Kaiba in the stomach, the force of which sent the younger man backwards so that he was now lying with his back flat against the front door.

Kaiba cursed, but no sound left his lips as he fought hard to stop himself from crying out in pain. He had endured worse beatings over time after being adopted my Gozaburo, but none of those times had the painful mental effect which this was having at being beaten by his natural birth father. If only he had just mentioned what he knew at the very beginning, then none of this would be happening.

"It'll be the only one you ever produce," Ken continued. "When I'm through with you, not even the most desperate of women would look at you." He kicked Kaiba again, causing several ribs to break. "And even if they did, you wouldn't have the equipment needed to make another." As he brought his leg back to kick once more, he heard Keiko cry out in a high-pitched voice.

"Daddy!" Keiko screamed as loud as she could after seeing what her father was doing. She began to cry and pleaded for Ken to stop as he turned to face her. "Stop it, please!"

Suki stood behind her younger sister and held her back as they both stared in horror at Kaiba, who was now practically huddled in ball on the floor. "He's suffered enough." She hadn't meant for him to be punished like this.

Ken returned his gaze to Kaiba, who just lay there staring up at him. Blood was now covering the whole left side of Kaiba's face and his eyes were wide and watery as he held on to the pain he was feeling. Slowly the anger faded away from inside Ken as he continued to gaze at the almost pleading blue eyes that looked up at him. He could have sworn he'd seen those eyes someplace before, but where? A sharp pain raced through his head like a bolt of lightning, causing him to stagger slightly. "Get out," he ordered calmly to Kaiba. "If I ever see you again, I won't be so merciful."

Pain raged everywhere in Kaiba's body as he stood up, and he couldn't help but wince a couple of times as he felt his ribs poking further inwards. Blindly, he fumbled for the door handle, opened it, and slowly backed out of the apartment.

"Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it," Ken growled threateningly at Kaiba before he disappeared out of sight.


	24. Chapter 24

**It's been a while but I'm back to finish this story once and for all.**

**Like before I own no rights to Yugioh!**

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**Chapter Twenty-four**

After finding the address he needed Bakura was right behind on Kaiba's tracks. With no transportation of his own Bakura was forced to use public transport and faced over an hour's journey on a crowded train. He was glad to be out walking in the open streets and not having to suffering listening to the screaming child seated next to him for most of his journey.

Bakura reached into his pocket, pulled out the paper which the address was written on, checked it against the signpost that loomed above him and was glad to find that he was in the right area. Eager to find Kaiba he folded the paper to place back into his pocket and quickened his pace as he set off towards the apartment block.

A young dark haired woman carrying grocery bags was walking not too far ahead of him when she suddenly stopped as one of her bags split and its contents spilled out onto the ground. She bent down to retrieve her items but was unable to carry them all and cursed as she dropped some of them again.

"Looks like you could use some help." Bakura smiled as he now stood beside the young woman and holding a bag of frozen peas.

"Thanks." The woman smiled back and allowed Bakura to pick up several more of her items before she led the way to her apartment.

Bakura followed behind in silence and felt his blood freeze when they stopped outside the apartment door that he had been heading for. Was the woman he was currently helping the same as the one who was to blame for his break up with Kaiba? And what would he say if he now came face to face with him? He'd been practicing a speech in his mind on the train on the way there to try and ignore the noisy child but now it was blank.

"I'm home." Suki shouted down the hall as she led Bakura through to the kitchen to unload the groceries they'd been carrying. "Thank you so much for …." She started to thank Bakura but stopped as she heard her sister's voice calling for her to come quickly.

"Keiko what happened?" Suki asked as she rushed into the living room to find tears rolling down her sister's face and their father on the floor in the middle of a seizure.

"I don't know, he just started moving like this." Keiko ran to her older sister and buried her face in Suki's clothes. "Make him stop, Suki, please make him stop."

Suki froze as she watched her father spasm where he lay in front of her. She wrapped her arms around Keiko, more for her own comfort that her sister's as she had no idea of what to do.

Slowly Bakura entered the room after following Suki from the kitchen. He saw Ken down on the floor and the two sisters huddled together, both scared an neither of them knowing what to do in the situation. "All you can do at the moment is to wait for him to stop." He told them.

"There has to be something else." Suki replied, her eyes still fixed upon her father.

"Well you could go and call for an ambulance." Bakura suggested. "When the seizure is finished he'll need to be checked over."

"Can't you do it for me?" Suki asked as she held on tightly to her sister. "You seem to know what to do more then what I do."

Bakura shook his head. "It would be better if you made the call as the paramedics will need to know things like family and medical history which I can't help them with." He knew this was a lie as he'd been told some information about the man Kaiba suspected as his father, but he wasn't going to let Suki know that he knew. His eyes fell on Keiko who looked absolutely terrified and he knew that although he didn't want to stay because of what Suki had done which broke him and Kaiba apart, he couldn't just leave them on their own at a time like this. "I'll stay and help so you won't be on your own."

"Thank you." Suki said as she gently eased Keiko from her so that she could go and make the call.

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For nearly an hour, Bakura, Suki and Keiko had been waiting in a small side waiting room at the hospital. Bakura was seated next to Keiko who was hugging tightly to her green pony plushie whilst Suki paced backwards and forwards across the room. Not one of them had said a word to each other for several minutes now and the frustration of being left waiting to hear news of her father was taking its toll on Suki.

"Why won't someone let us know what's happening!" Suki complained. "Even an explanation of what they think happened would be nice."

"But the doctors have already said what they thought happened." Bakura pointed out as the doctors had informed them about Ken's condition upon their arrival.

"Not in a language that I could understand." Suki snapped back in reply as she hadn't understood a single word from all the medical terms that had been used when it had all been explained to her.

Bakura sighed, he had honestly thought she had understood everything, but clearly she wasn't as smart as she looked. "They think that the sudden stoppage of medication caused your father to have a fit similar to that brought on by epilepsy."

"Why didn't daddy take his medicine?" Keiko asked her older sister.

"Because he couldn't afford it." Suki said walking away from her sister. "He used all his money to take you on that stupid horse riding vacation." There was a hint of anger in her voice.

Keiko was silent as she began to feel guilty about her birthday treat before she asked; "Is he going to die like mommy?"

"If he does then it will be all your fault." Suki said in a raised angry voice as she looked back over her shoulder. Her reply had caused Keiko to start to cry.

"There was no need for that." Bakura glared at Suki and she continued to walk further away from them. He turned to the upset little girl beside him. "He's going to be okay." He assured her.

"But you don't know that." Keiko sniffed, her blue-grey eyes where big and watery. "Mommy stopped taking her medicine and she died." She began to cry again, much harder this time, and buried her face into her pony.

Suki stopped and frowned as she looked at her sister. She hadn't really meant what she had said or to make her cry. "Keiko, I'm sorry." She said as she came back across the room at a quick pace, sat down beside her little sister and pulled her into an embrace. "It's not your fault."

Bakura watched as the two sisters hugged each other and Suki lovingly running her fingers through Keiko's wild black hair. "What happened to your mother?" he asked.

"She died from cancer." Suki spoke quietly after kissing her sister's head. She couldn't recall ever talking about what had happened to anyone before and yet here she was talking to someone she had only meet earlier that day. "Things were okay until she became unable to work, and then father was fired from his job not long after that. Before then she had the best medical care available but after that it became less and less until she died two years ago."

Black hair continued to pass between Suki's fingers as she carried on explaining how the death of their mother had affected their father. "My father had had a traumatic past which stirred up memories again after mom's death and that's why he's on the medication to help him cope with it." Her tone changed from sadness to bitterness as she turned back to the financial factor over her mother's health care. "If her care hadn't decreased then she'd still be with us and father wouldn't be like this."

Bakura had noticed that Suki seemed to be holding back a lot of bitter feelings over her mother's death and wondered if any of it was to do with the reason as to why she 'supposedly' held a grudge against Kaiba? "I knew that this isn't what you want to hear but the decrease in your mother's care may not be what killed her." If it hadn't of been for the thought of defending Kaiba in all of this then Suki's glare at Bakura would have been enough to make him back down. He took a deep breath before he continued, being as sympathetic as he could. "Some cancers are easier to treat than others, but there is no known certain cure to vanish them for good. With the right treatment it is possible to combat against the disease but some cancers can spread quickly and even go undetected until it's too late."

Suki listened to what had been said to her as she slowly stopped streaming her fingers through her sister's hair. Could it be possible that she had been holding a false grudge against Kaiba for the past two years just to make herself feel better for having someone to blame for her mother's death? Perhaps, and if so then she'd just ruined an innocent life due to her own selfishness. She shook the thought from her head as she looked down at Keiko. "Would you like a drink?"

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Together Bakura and Suki went to get some refreshments from the foyer, leaving Keiko and her plushie alone it the side waiting room for a couple of minutes. With three plastic cups balanced between his two hands Bakura slowly walked back down the hall careful not to let the drinks spill over into each other. He was paying so much attention to the drinks that he bumped into someone as he rounded the corner.

"I'm sorry." Bakura apologised as coffee, tea and coco splashed together and dripped to the floor. He looked up to face the person he had almost showered with hot drinks to see a bruised face staring back at him. _Seto?_ He thought to himself as he looked straight at the deep blue eyes beneath the puffed up eyes. Like before his mind was now blank at seeing Kaiba there in front of him, all battered and bruised. What had happened to him?

Kaiba stared back silently in disbelief at seeing Bakura stood before him. What was he doing there? He couldn't explain why but there was some hope and comfort in seeing Bakura again, a sign that feelings weren't going to be bitter between them since their split that morning. The split that he hadn't wanted but knew that he deserved after the secret he had kept from Bakura about what had happened between himself and Suki. He stared longingly back into the wide brown eyes and was about to say something when a familiar voice spoke his name.

"Kaiba?" Suki spoke calmly and quietly looking just as surprised as the two boys, and felt guilty for the damage her father had caused to the CEO. She turned to Bakura and carefully transferred the candy and potato chips over to his already full hands. "Can you give us a moment please? Tell Keiko that I'll be there in a minute or two."

Bakura nodded silently in agreement and as he slowly moved away glanced over his shoulder several times to see both Kaiba and Suki watch him leave. He was very careful not to drop any of the items he was carrying as he backed through the door to enter the waiting room and re-join Keiko who was still sat cuddled up with her pony plushie.

"Where's Suki?" the little girl asked as she took a hot coco and a bag of candy from Bakura's over loaded hands.

"She's talking to someone but will be along in a minute." Bakura replied as he placed the remaining items down onto the table between the chairs and winced as boiling hot coffee spilt over onto his fingertips.

"Who?" asked Keiko as she struggled to open the candy.

"Seto Kaiba." Bakura mumbled as he sucked the scolded tips of his fingers. He watched the dark hair girl continue to struggle with her candy clearly none the wiser as to who Kaiba was. "Give it here." He held out his hand as he offered to open the bag.

"Do you think she'll say sorry for daddy beating him up?" Keiko asked innocently.

Surprised by what Keiko had said Bakura managed to drop half of the bags contents on to the floor as he ripped through the seal. "Your father beat him?"

The little girl nodded. "It was scary, daddy was so angry I though he was going to kill him." She cuddled tighter to her plushie and took the half full bag of candy back from Bakura.

_Poor Seto. _Bakura thought to himself as he crouched down to pick up what he had dropped, and wondered if Kaiba was coping alright with the ordeal.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty five**

Kaiba watched silently as Bakura walked away from Suki and himself. Every few steps that Bakura took he would stop and turn to face them as if he didn't want to let them vanish from his sight. Kaiba didn't want Bakura to vanish from his, and wondered what he was doing there, with Suki of all people? He stared at her coldly.

"I'm sorry this happened." Suki said as she fidgeted with uneasiness from Kaiba's glare. "Not just for what my father did, but for everything." She couldn't bring herself to look at him as she confessed. "I blamed you for something that wasn't your fault."

There seemed to be sincerity in Suki's words as Kaiba listened to what she had to say. Had she regretted playing those stupid childish mind games and was now facing up to what was to be in store for her in the months to come? Obviously she was starting to act more grown up about the situation so hadn't he do the same in return? After all it was both of their fault that a new life had been created and not acknowledging his child wasn't going to solve anything.

"If you decide to keep the baby then I won't leave it to you to raise it on your own." There, it was done. He'd finally accepted that he would soon become a father, and despite the events and conditions which led to it being so, he was secretly looking forward to it. "Just don't expect me to fill any kind of husband role towards you."

"You don't have to worry about that." Suki's mouth quivered slightly as she tried to smile. "There is no baby and never was."

_What?_ Kaiba thought. How could he have been so gullible to believe such lies in the first place? His head was in such a mess with everything that had happened so far that day that he just wanted to leave and be on his own to think things over. "I've had enough of your games." He told her as he began to turn and walk away.

"Nothing ever happened between us that night." Suki confessed as she reached out and grabbed Kaiba by the arm to try and stop him from leaving, she had to let him know the truth. "You were sick from having drunk all that wine, so I put you to bed whilst I cleaned up the mess and your clothes. When you woke the next morning without being able to recall what happened I used that to my advantage for getting revenge and…."

"You ruined my life!" Kaiba roared as he swung round and threw Suki from his arm which caused him to draw attention from many of the people nearby as they stood and stared.

"I know, and I'm really sorry." Tears began to leak from her eyes and her voice became a higher pitch. Why had she been so stupid to accuse him of something when she didn't know and understand all of the facts in the first place?

Kaiba watched the tears flow not knowing if they were real or fake. And what good would it be if they were true? It wouldn't change anything. Bakura wasn't going to come back to him after what he had said to him, and he certainly didn't feel like he deserved another chance. But what had Bakura been doing there with Suki anyway? He didn't want to, - couldn't think, he just wanted to be on his own. He stormed off through the small crowd of onlookers leaving Suki behind as she continued to cry.

Now aware that she was being stared at by complete strangers, Suki hastily returned to the waiting room. Closing the door behind her she tried to brush away the tears from her eyes but wasn't having much luck as they were replaced by more a second later.

"What's wrong?" Bakura asked from down on the floor where he was still picking up the candy he had dropped. He got to his feet and helped guide Suki to sit down on one of the chairs.

Keiko's face was pale as she asked "Is it daddy?"

Suki shook her head before bursting into more tears. She didn't want to make her sister worry anymore than what she already was but she couldn't help stop herself from feeling guilty about what she had done to Kaiba and so the waterworks carried on.

Bakura quietly left the room as he watched the younger sister move over to comfort the older sister. It must have been something Kaiba had said to cause her to act like this, he had a way with upsetting people and this wasn't healthy for the baby either. He ran down the hall towards the entrance as he searched for Kaiba and found him outside walking down the steps that lead to the car park. "Seto!" he shouted.

Kaiba stopped at hearing his name called. He had convinced himself that he and Bakura wouldn't get back together again and yet here he was chasing him. Would it be so wrong to have a second chance after all?

"What did you say to Suki?" Bakura demanded as he came to a halt beside Kaiba.

Suki? Bakura had been chasing him because of Suki, and not because he wanted to get back together?! "None of your business." Kaiba growled angrily with his disappointment and headed over to his car.

"She's bawling her eyes out back there, people don't just cry for no reason!" Bakura raised his voice before following Kaiba. He was going to find out what had gone on. "Don't leave her like this." He pleaded as Kaiba unlocked the door of his car. "The stress isn't good for the baby."

"Why don't you go talk to Suki about all of this instead of bothering me? She seems to be your new best friend all of a sudden. " Kaiba couldn't believe that Bakura was asking him to be concerned about the very person who had torn them apart. He opened the car door, claimed into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind him.

"I came here looking for you!" Bakura exclaimed as he watched Kaiba place the key in the ignition, prepared to drive off. His big brown eyes glistened at the thought of him leaving like this.

Kaiba heard Bakura's muffled voice which made him stop what he was doing and look at him with those sad eyes. Bakura had wanted to be back with him and had come all this way to find him. He lowered down his window, he had to tell Bakura that he couldn't risk hurting him again but didn't quite get that far as he was beaten to breaking the silence.

"I didn't mean to get involved with her, but when your father was brought here I couldn't just leave them." Bakura explained and hoped that Kaiba would understand.

"What's wrong with him?" Kaiba asked curiously and couldn't stop the concern in his voice, even after the beating he had received.

"He had a fit." Bakura explained. It was a good sign that Kaiba wasn't leaving just yet, maybe there was still time to sort everything out. "But if you want to know more I think you should ask him yourself once he regains consciousness." He smiled warmly to try to reassure Kaiba that things would be okay.

Not succumbing to the smile, though he wanted to, Kaiba turned the key and started the car.

"Fine, be like that!" Bakura threw his hands in the air with frustration. He'd tried his best but Kaiba was just too stubborn. "Run away from everything and _be by yourself_." He was about to go back to the hospital when he couldn't help adding. "Not that I care, but you shouldn't be driving in that condition." And with that he walked back to the entrance and disappeared inside.

Kaiba watched Bakura leave in his rear view mirror and once he was out of sight, he was left staring at his discoloured reflection alone in the car. Putting the car into reverse he backed up several inches and then stopped the ignition. Being alone was the last thing he wanted. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit one of his speed dials. _Curse you for caring, Ryou._

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Bakura had returned to the waiting room only to find that it was now empty. He questioned one of the nurses and she explained to him that the sisters had been reunited with their father who had recently woken up and that she was under instructions from the eldest one to 'send him through' to join them. The nurse led him down several corridors and came to a stop outside a room which had the patient's name on a piece of paper taped to the door. Gently, he knocked before entering.

In the room, Ken sat propped up in the hospital bed with Keiko sat on the bed to his left and Suki sat on a chair to his right. All three of them watched the white haired boy enter the room and Suki smiled warmly. "This is Bakura." She explained to her father. "He's helped us during the time you've been unconscious, I wouldn't have known what to do without him."

"Thank you for taking care of my girls." Ken nodded with his appreciation.

"Just glad I could help." Bakura replied with a slight shrug. He hadn't forgotten why he was there in the first place and now seeing that all was well he just wanted to go but knew it would be impolite at the current moment.

"Daddy?" Keiko spoke up. "Suki said that you spent all of your money on my birthday vacation and that you couldn't afford to buy your medicine so that's why you became ill." Her voice started to turn wobbly as she continued. "I don't want you to get ill again so I'll sell all my toys and give the money to you."

"You'll do no such thing." Ken said as he pulled his daughter into an embrace to comfort her. "That was very thoughtful of you but I get paid next week so I'll soon be back on my medication again."

"Do you think that's such a good idea?" Bakura couldn't stop himself from butting in the conversation and now found both father and daughters staring at him and making him uncomfortable. "What I mean is, your mediation may help you to deal with painful memories in the short term but remembering and talking about them would benefit you in the long run." Why was he trying to get the man to seek therapy? What good would it do if he did remember? Kaiba had already given up, and with good reason from earlier events that day, so why not just leave them alone too? "I'm sure you don't want a repeat incidence of what happen today."

"I can't afford treatment like that." Ken replied knowing full well that that would the correct route to take for him to be able to move on and live his life normally.

"Then let me pay for it." Came a suggestion.

"You!" Ken growled at the sight of the Kaiba standing in the doorway. He would have gotten out of his bed to finish what was started earlier if it had just been the two of them alone.

"Daddy!" Suki cried as she held him back since he had sat upright as though about to leap out of the bed. "Let him help." She begged.

Now Ken was confused. Yesterday Suki had been talking to a newspaper journalist about what a horrid person Kaiba was and now here she was defending him?

Suki could tell by the way her father was looking at her that he wanted answers. "I lied about everything to the papers." She could feel her throat becoming dryer as she confessed that everything she had said had been a hoax. "Nothing ever happened between the two of us. I just wanted to get revenge on him for mom's death."

_She what?! _Bakura couldn't believe what he'd just heard. She had made the whole thing up; Kaiba had been innocent all along. He glanced over towards the brunette, who was still focused on the father and daughter conversation, and wanted to be able to tell him how sorry he was. But why did she lie in the first place?

"What makes you think he was responsible for your mother's death?" Ken asked his daughter.

"When you lost you job after _he_ took control of his company you had to decrease mom's care since you couldn't afford it and I believed that was why she died." Suki didn't want to look at her father any more and looked down at her hands which were now clasped together in her lap. It had been easier for her to pin all of the blame onto Kaiba than something she didn't understand and know the facts about and now she knew that she had done the wrong thing in doing so.

"That's not why she died." Ken reached out and took hold of his daughter's hand. He was now angry with himself for not explaining things sooner. "When your mother gave up her job it was because the cancer had advanced so far that the doctors told her she would only have six moths to live. She wanted to spend that time with you and your sister and proved the doctors wrong by living way past that timeframe." He watched as his daughter crumbled into floods of tears from the memory of her mother and hugged her tightly.

Envy glistened in Kaiba's eyes as he watched his _own_ father comfort the girl. "I haven't got time to stand around all day so just be ready and have your bags packed in three days time." He managed sternly and was gone before anyone had the chance to say anything in return.

"I better go too." Bakura blurted out as soon as Kaiba's departure registered in his brain. He couldn't risk losing him again and didn't care anymore if his own exit seemed rude towards the farther and daughters. "It was nice meeting you all." He added as he back towards the door and out of the room to chase after Kaiba.

It wasn't too long before Bakura had managed to catch up with Kaiba as they neared the front doors to exit the hospital. They walked silently beside each other until they where outside and walking down the steps. "I'm sorry about ever doubting you." Bakura said.

_Its okay, you have nothing to be sorry for_. Kaiba thought but didn't say anything in response for fear of giving Bakura false hope about them getting back together. He didn't want to hurt him anymore than what he already had done, but he couldn't just ignore him. "How did you get here?" He asked as he sat on a low nearby wall.

"By train." Bakura replied as he too sat down beside Kaiba. "How else could I have gotten here?"

Kaiba quickly glanced at his watch. "I think you may have missed the last train back to Domino. Roland will be here shortly to pick me up so you can ride back with me." He wasn't prepared to leave Bakura behind on his own and would drop him off where ever it was that he had gone to. "Where did you go, Yugi's?"

"I don't want to go back to Yugi's" Bakura said and smiled at Kaiba hoping he would get the hint that he wanted to be with him again.

"Well, I don't want you back at the mansion." Kaiba snapped as he looked away from Bakura. He should have known that the white haired boy would have gotten the wrong idea from his offer of riding home together.

Slightly startled by the tone but not completely unprepared for a response like that, Bakura attempted again at getting his lover back. "Now that Suki has confessed it was all a hoax, I thought we could give it another try and go back to how it was before this morning." He smiled to try and catch Kaiba's attention but failed as he continued to look away from him.

"We can't." Kaiba whispered. It seemed like Bakura wasn't going to give up on him so felt that he needed to know why. "I promised that I would never hurt you and I broke that promise with the things that I said this morning."

"We both said things that hurt each other, we were angry and knew that neither of us meant those things, it wasn't real." Bakura reached out and took hold of Kaiba's hand. "But last night and the time we had before that, that was real." He saw Kaiba's bruised face stare down at their hands which were becoming entwined knowing that he was remembering the good times.

"I can't." Kaiba pulled back his hand. He wanted, _needed,_ Bakura more than anything else but wasn't convinced that he himself deserved that second chance which was being offered to him.

Bakura couldn't stand it any longer; he wasn't going to let Kaiba push him away again. He took a deep breath before getting to his feet. "You're going to have to get use to me being around because from now on I'm going to be the last thing you see before you go to sleep at night and I'll be the first thing you see when you wake up." He moved so close to Kaiba that his body was pressed against his and gently so as not to hurt Kaiba's bruised face, took hold of him. "I'm not going anywhere." He said before kissing him passionately.

Unable to resist Kaiba pulled Bakura closer to him, careful not to rub against his broken rib. It had seemed like years since that morning and if Bakura was really determined to stay with him than he was fighting a losing battle. "Since when did you become so stubborn?" He smirked as they both stopped to breathe again.

"Since Joey made me realise just how much I love you." Bakura smiled back.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty Six**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bakura asked as he and Kaiba waited at the ranch for the Makenzies to arrive. "Shouldn't we wait for the therapist to arrive first?"

"I want them to settle in for the first few days before the therapist starts the treatment. We're simply just playing the part of host and nothing more." Kaiba smiled to reassure Bakura that he didn't intend on revealing anything about their connections to his father in case it started another seizure like before. He leaned to kiss his lover whilst the limo was only just visible on the horizon as once it's passengers arrived they would only be seen as nothing more than friends for the following couple of days. Neither of them liked the idea much but knew it was for the best until they got to know the Makenzies better.

The two of them pulled away from each other before the limo came closer into view, each of them still wanting the other and not looking forward to pretending that they weren't a couple after being so close over the past few days. Bakura mouthed the words 'I love you' to Kaiba one last time which was returned with a smile which he knew meant Kaiba felt the same even though he hadn't yet heard those words pass through his lips.

Just a few feet in front of them is where the limo stopped. The driver got out and opened the doors to allow his passengers to alight. "What are you doing here?" Suki asked Bakura in surprise as she was the first to emerge

"I err, thought you could do with a friendly face since his still isn't up to much." Bakura said quickly indicating towards Kaiba whose face still showed signs of bruising and healed cuts. He'd made Suki laugh at the remark; Kaiba however was not so amused and sent a cold look Bakura's way.

Ken got out of the limo next and helped Keiko after him. He turned his attention to his surroundings which seemed familiar to him. "I've been here before."

"Really?" asked Keiko cuddling her pony plushie as she stared up at her father with interest.

"I _think_, I used to live here." Ken added uncertainly.

Kaiba was pleased at the fact that his father could remember such a detail and knew that in a matter of days he would know so much more. "You did indeed." He said unable to stop himself from confirming the fact and received a scolding look from Bakura for doing so.

"How do you know?" Ken asked suspiciously.

"You use to work for my father's company." Kaiba continued the lie which he had started weeks before when he had first met his father. "It was on the company's files and since the previous owners were selling up I thought it should be returned to its rightful owner." He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and ignoring another scolding look from Bakura, handed them over to Ken. "These are yours."

"No way!" both of the sisters cried together in unison. "I'd much rather live here that our apartment." Suki added.

"Thanks." Said Ken still sounding uncertain as he took the keys from Kaiba. "Mind if I look around?"

"Go ahead." Replied Kaiba. "The guesthouse hotel is currently empty and locked as I planned on us all staying in the main house, so we'll meet you there once you're done."

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Several hours later Ken still hadn't rejoined them at the house. The two girls were bored and getting restless so Kaiba suggested that Bakura show them around the ranch whilst he went in search of Ken.

"Horses!" Keiko shouted happily as they approached the stables.

"Sorry, there are no horses here I'm afraid." Bakura told the little girl only to disappoint her. "But Seto thought that you may like this little girl." He led them into the stable where the lone miniature horse was kept.

"Wow!" gasped Keiko as she saw the small horse with a green and pink bow tied around its bridal. "Is she really for me?"

"Yep, she's all yours." Bakura smiled. "So you'd better pick a name for her."

"Minty!" The little girl squealed excitedly. "I'll call her Minty."

Bakura smiled and laughed to himself as Keiko had behaved just as Kaiba had predicted. He glanced across to Suki who was shaking her head in an amused way at her pony obsessed sister.

"Can we take her for a walk?" Keiko asked as she stood beside Minty petting her.

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Kaiba spotted Ken stood at the edge of the lake watching the sky turn orange as it set behind the hills on the other side. He scanned the area for any geese that may be nearby and saw several waddling along the waterside away from them. With the coast clear he approached from behind and stopped underneath the tree where he and Bakura had watched the clouds on their first visit there. "It's a beautiful view isn't it?"

Ken turned to see that Kaiba was sitting down beneath the shade of the tree and nodded in response. "Reminds me of the times I used to watch the sun set with my wife. My first wife that is." He smiled sadly and looked back out across the lake's surface. "Would you believe all the time we must have spent together and I can't even remember her name? Pathetic eh?"

"Not at all." Kaiba said as he leaned back onto his hands. He knew the feeling all to well. "It was thirteen years ago she died." He saw his father spin back round to face him and knew he'd said too much. Good thing Bakura wasn't there to scold him for it.

"How do you know that?" Ken asked as he moved away from the water's edge and closer to Kaiba. The flapping of wings could be heard as the geese took to the air.

"Company records." Kaiba lied, watching the birds leave his view.

"There's other things you know too isn't there?" Ken said as he sat down beside Kaiba hoping that more would be revealed to him. "Why are you so keen to help me?"

The temptation to tell his father everything was strong but Kaiba knew that he couldn't reveal anymore until the therapy treatment was underway, he'd said too mush already as it was. "I can't tell you." He said taking in a deep breath. "But I will do all I can to help you remember."

For a moment Ken thought about what Kaiba could possibly have to gain from helping him? Perhaps he had gotten the boy wrong all along and he truly did just want to help an ex-employee as a gesture of good will? He felt ashamed for jumping to conclusions about him and felt the need to apologise for what he had done. "I'm sorry for striking you like that."

"Can't blame you for being protective of your daughters." Kaiba replied at hearing the apology. He'd have done something similar himself if it had been Bakura he was protecting.

There was a gaggling murmur coming from behind Kaiba and before he had the chance to check it out he felt a beak clasp at his fingers on the ground. _Ow!_ He winced at the pain which shot through his fingers and quickly tried to scramble away from the goose as it took another dive down and got him again. Kaiba swung his arm to knock the bird away only to cause it to rear up with its wings flapping and made a hissing noise that terrified him.

Ken watched as Kaiba tried to fend off the goose only to anger it more. There was a look in the CEO's eyes which resembled the same look that he had seen staring up at him from his apartment floor days before. Big blue, fearful eyes that he knew he had seen somewhere else before.

_# Ken was setting up the BBQ when he heard his name called and looked up to see his wife come running over to him. _

_She ran softly with her dark hair draping over her shoulders. "Can you watch him for a moment whilst I go and get the food?" she asked and indicated towards their son who stood near the lake feeding the ducks with bits of stale bread._

"_Sure." He kissed his wife and placed his hand on the bump at her front. "Don't over do it though honey, you don't want to go upsetting the baby." She flashed him a smile and her blue eyes sparkled before she headed back up to the house._

_He glanced over towards his son who was happily throwing bread out to the ducks floating on the lake and then continued to try and get the charcoal to light. It took several attempts to get the black substance to catch fire but he finally did it and then heard his son cry out over a loud mixture of honking and hissing sounds._

"_Daddy!" the boy cried as he tried to shield himself from the beaks of a group of geese as they surrounded and pecked at him trying to get the bread he held in his hand. A beak snapped on the boy's fingers and he let go of the bread which tumbled to the ground but still several of them continued to attack him. "Daddy, help!"_

_Like a flash, he was by his son's side knocking away the geese until they had all retreated. He looked down towards his son who was crying, his eyes big blue and full of fear from the attacking birds. Bending down he hugged his son. "Its okay Seto, they're gone." #_

The goose took flight as the older man came charging towards it and honked loudly before moving away to join the others in the sky, leaving the father and son alone. "Are you alright?" Ken asked with his back to Kaiba.

"Fine." Kaiba answered as he rubbed his stinging fingers. "It's not like they have teeth." He tried to joke about it to hide the fact that he was shaken up from the goose's attack. What must he have looked like to Ken? A grown man afraid of a dumb bird. How pathetic.

Ken stood frozen as he played back the memory. It was the first time in years that he remembered any kind of memory of his sons as he'd pushed them so far back in his mind. Could be possible that Kaiba was actually his son and that was why he was concerned about his memory regain? He turned around, looked down at Kaiba and paid great attention to the details on the young man's face. Beneath the fading bruises and healing cuts which he had caused, Ken recognised an older version of the son he had once known, and if there had been any other doubts there were of course those deep sapphire blue eyes that had been inherited from his wife.

But Ken's last memory told him that it couldn't be true. He struggled to make sense of things and his voice shook as he spoke. "I thought that I had killed you both in the car accident, if I had known otherwise I would have come looking for you all those years ago."

Kaiba's eyes widened at what was said. The goose must have triggered some kind of memory in Ken's mind and now he finally knew who he was. A faint smile wobbled on his lips as he cleared the lump in his throat. "We were lied to about you too."

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Keiko ran across the open land holding tightly to the reins of her horse that trotted along beside her, further back Suki and Bakura walked side by side as they followed her. They had been out for a walk on the edge of the forest and where now returning back towards the house.

For the past few minutes Suki had been collecting her thoughts about Bakura. She'd been fond of him since the first moment they meet and was extremely happy that he was here on the ranch too as she'd been very upset when he had left the hospital before she had the chance to ask if she could see him again. Not wanting to take the chance of losing him again she made her move and took hold of Bakura's hand after 'accidentally' brushing hers against his several times.

Bakura looked down at the soft gentle fingers that had wrapped around his own. "What are you doing?" he asked puzzled by Suki's move.

"I like you, silly." She giggled still holding onto Bakura's hand which wasn't holding back nor pulling away. "You not the hand holding type?"

"I'm seeing someone." Bakura simply answered.

"Oh!" Suki immediately let go of Bakura's hand and knew she'd just made a fool of herself. _Stupid girl! Did you honestly expect a guy that cute to be single? _"Just my luck eh?" she laughed nervously and blushed. "They always say the cute ones are either taken or gay."

"And I happen to be both." Bakura found Suki's comment amusing.

Suki started laughing sheepishly. "See what I mean about my luck?" she continued and wished that the ground would just swallow her up.

Together they laughed about the situation for a while. "I hope your other half knows how lucky he is to have someone like you." Suki smiled feeling more relaxed about the foolish act.

"He does." Bakura smiled back and longed to be in Kaiba's arms but knew that wouldn't be possible for the next couple of days. His smile faded and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep up the act. Until now he had had Kaiba all to himself and now he had to share him. Was he jealous that it would no longer be like that from now on?

"I found daddy and mister Kaiba." Keiko said as she and Minty came running back to the two stragglers and pointed towards the lake.

"They're hugging?" Suki's brow was wrinkled with confusion as she viewed the two men stood beneath the tree.

_Seto you idiot! _Was Bakura's first thought as he had told him time after time not to rush or reveal things too soon but didn't seem to be listening. Then he sighed. It may have been the case that Ken had remembered things on his own and surely it was a good sign that they were hugging and not fighting.

"They were crying a moment again." Keiko added.

"What!" Suki exclaimed and started to stride over to them.

"Leave them!" Bakura cried as he reached out and stopped Suki. He couldn't let her interfere with things. "Just leave them for a while, it will all be okay. Trust me"

Suki stared one last time at the two of them hugging before she, Bakura and Keiko headed back to the stables and house.


	27. Chapter 27

Reading this fic and adding it to your alert/fav list is greatly appreciated, but so are reviews. :)

**Chapter Twenty-seven**

Once they had returned to the house Kaiba explained to Bakura what had happened earlier by the lake whilst Ken explained to his daughters a few details about his life before the accident. Keiko was excited to hear about Kaiba being her brother; Suki on the other hand was not so thrilled with the news.

Kaiba was finding it hard to breathe as Keiko sat on his knee with her arms wrapped tightly around him; her pony plushie was also squished in the embrace. "This is so cool!" the little girl squealed. "I always wanted a big brother."

"It's no big deal." Suki said as she sat on the sofa flicking through a magazine, clearly not sharing her sister's excitement. "He's only your half brother anyway."

"And you're only my half sister." Keiko shot back sticking her tongue out at Suki. She released her hold on Kaiba but continued to cuddle her pony. "Besides I don't just have one brother but two."

"Two?" Kaiba asked slightly confused.

"Don't forget about Mokuba." Ken pointed out from where he was standing across the room.

"Yeah, when can I meet him?" Keiko asked smiling happily.

Kaiba froze at the mention of his brother's name. How could he have forgotten about Mokuba so soon? Ever?! A lot of things had happened that day but how could he forget to tell his father about something like that? "You won't be able too." He replied sadly. "He died earlier this year in a rollercoaster accident at the Domino fair."

Bakura peered up from the pages of the book he was reading to check that Kaiba was okay. Even though Mokuba had been dead for months now Kaiba still found it hard to talk about it. At the moment he could see that his lover was managing to keep it together and wished he could tell him how proud he was for him doing so.

"I read about that." Suki said putting down her magazine. "Harness failure, three dead and a dozen injured." She reeled off the details she remembered and then casually picked the magazine back up to start flicking through the pages once more. "Still hasn't put me off riding them." she added which caused Kaiba to glare angrily at her for the insensitive remark she had just made.

"Daddy?" Keiko asked sadly as she watched her father leave the room.

Gently Kaiba lifted the little girl from his lap and placed her back down onto the chair which they had been sitting on in order to follow after Ken. He had a feeling that not mentioning Mokuba's death to him was the reason why he had left the room.

Ken had exited the back way of the house and stood leaning on the porch rail as he looked up to the stars. Hearing somebody approach from behind, Ken turned round to see Kaiba now standing outside with him. "I'm such a foolish man for getting my hopes up." He said sadly from hearing that his youngest son was no longer with them.

"I should have said something sooner." Kaiba admitted as he watched his father looking back up at the stars. Silence followed as neither of them knew what to say next and Kaiba's view fell on the stars too, wondering if Mokuba was still watching over him.

"What was he like?" Ken asked breaking the silence.

"Pretty much the same as Keiko." Kaiba smiled as he thought about his brother and just how similar the resemblance was between the two. "Apart from the ponies."

The older man couldn't help but smile at his daughter's love for ponies. He switched his gaze from the heavens above to his son beside him. "It must have hard for you losing what you thought was your only family."

"It was." Kaiba confirmed as he too stopped viewing the stars. "If it hadn't been for Ryou, I wouldn't be here now."

"How come?" Ken wanted to know more.

It wasn't something that Kaiba would have liked to explain to anyone, but his father deserved to know the facts. "I was a loner, cold-hearted; never let anyone get close to me. There were even times that I had pushed Mokuba aside, and when he died I was truly alone, or so I thought. Quite a few people were willing and wanted to help me but I rejected all of their help, including Ryou's. But having experienced a similar situation himself he was determined to get through to me and saved me from a pathetic suicide attempt." He hesitated as he wondered if he should tell his father just what Bakura meant to him, he was going to find out sooner or later anyway. "And that's when I realised that I had found a true friend, my soul mate and reason for living."

"Are you trying to tell me that you and he are ….?" Ken couldn't bring himself to finish the question and turned away from his son.

"I know you're disappointed, but this is who I am." Kaiba said, he hadn't really expected his father to react the way he did and was hurt by it. Maybe he shouldn't have told him so soon? "It's taken me years to find myself and I don't plan on changing _again_ for anyone."

"Disappointed?" Ken turned back to face Kaiba and shook his head. "No Seto, you haven't disappointed me the slightest. How could you with all you've achieved? It's just not something that I was prepared to hear that's all." He forced a huge smile onto his face. "If that's what makes you happy, then so be it."

"Thank you." Kaiba smiled with relief that his father had accepted him for who he was. "We'd better go back inside; they'll be wondering were we are."

"I want to be out here for a little bit longer, you go ahead," Ken said as he clasped Kaiba on the shoulder.

Leaving his father outside on his own Kaiba returned to the living room where Bakura and Keiko were setting up a board game on the floor. "Where's Suki?" he asked them both.

"Bathroom" Bakura replied only to see Kaiba disappear in the direction Suki had taken moments ago.

Kaiba waited in the hall until Suki had finished. The remark she had made about riding rollercoasters was a clear indication that she still had a problem with him and he was going to sort it out now. The toilet flushed and a little while later Suki emerged only to come face to face with Kaiba. "I'm not a threat to you." He told her. "Nothing could ever break the bond that you have with our father and sister."

Suki rolled her eyes. "You're so up yourself thinking that I see you as a threat to my family. Let me put you straight '_Kaiba'_," she focused on his surname as a way of stating that she wouldn't accept him as part of her family. "You mean nothing to me. You got that? Nothing!"

They both stared at each other for a short while and then more calmly Suki pointed out. "How can I think of you as my brother when I've seen you in all your glory?" she waved her hand in the air signalling his lower body half.

So that was Suki's problem. "If it makes you feel better, I've seen you naked too." He reminded her.

"That's not helping!" Suki shouted and ended up laughing afterwards, her face starting to redden. She saw the amused smile on Kaiba's face and sighed.

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The next morning at breakfast, Kaiba, Bakura and Suki sat around the table munching on cereal whilst Ken was upstairs attempting to get Keiko out of bed. "Father and I are going to visit mother and Mokuba's graves this morning." Kaiba enounced as he'd finished his bowl and was about to take a mouth full of hot coffee. "Ryou, would you mind keeping an eye on Keiko?"

"Of course not." Bakura smiled. Kaiba had told him about Ken now knowing about their relationship and that he had ask that they keep it secret from Suki and Keiko until the time was right. He had found this a strange request from someone who supposedly had no problems with them being together.

"And why wouldn't I be capable of looking after her?" Suki asked and was feeling hurt that she was being pushed away from her sister.

"I've already made other plans for you." Kaiba placed his coffee back down on the table and reached inside his jacket pocket.

"So now you're trying to arrange my life?!" Suki slammed her orange juice down in outrage from Kaiba taking over.

"There's a 5000 dollar limit on this card, you can spend it how you like." Kaiba explained as he waved a credit card in front of her. "My limo will be here shortly to collect you."

Suki took the plastic card from Kaiba and turned it over in her hands. He couldn't be serious about it could he? A smile crept onto her face. "I guess I could get use to my life being arranged for me."

"Good morning big brother!" Keiko came running in and swept her arms around Kaiba's neck almost choking him as he sat there. She hadn't overslept like they had thought but had been taking her time getting dressed for the day.

"What would you like to do today?" Kaiba asked as he pried her off his neck.

"Play with Minty!" the little girl cried as she couldn't wait to see her horse again.

"Of course." Kaiba chuckled and should have known better than to ask. At least he didn't have to worry about arranging for another limo to come and pick her up.

"You'll be left here with Suki and Ryou whilst Seto and I do something together." Ken told his daughter as he entered the kitchen.

"Not me." Suki gulped back the rest of her juice. "I have some serious shopping to do." She flexed the card given to her and heard a car horn beeping outside. "That's my ride, see you later." She sprang to her feet and kissed her father goodbye before rushing outside.

"You let her loose with a credit card?!" Ken exclaimed staring at Kaiba in amazement. "You're a braver man than I."

"There's a limit, she can't spend my fortune." Kaiba laughed.

Bakura found himself being dragged from his chair as the excited Keiko forced him to his feet. "Come on Ryou, let's go play with Minty!"

"What about your breakfast?" Ken shouted after his daughter as he watched the two of them disappear from the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry." Keiko shouted back.

Ken turned to Kaiba. "I guess it's just the two of us now. When would you like to leave for the cemetery?"

"Now, if you're ready to go?" Kaiba replied and stood up from the table. He moved the dishes to besides the sink ready for washing later, picked up his keys and then both of them made their way to his car outside. "We'll stop by a florist on the way to pick up …."

"Seto! Ken!" Bakura called out to them as they were about to enter Kaiba's car. He was carrying Keiko who was crying into his shoulder.

"Is something wrong?" Ken asked as he came over to take hold of his crying daughter.

"It's Minty." Bakura explained as he handed over the little girl to her father. "She's dead."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-eight**

Kaiba and his father had abandoned their plans for the day to stay at the ranch. Ken comforted his daughter who was extremely upset by what she had seen. When she and Bakura had arrived at the stable they had found her horse dead, skewed with a pitch fork. It had been down to Kaiba and Bakura to clear up after the unfortunate accident. Seeing that Bakura was also shaken form the discovery, Kaiba decided to take it upon himself to move the dead horse and bury it, leaving Bakura with the easier task of scrubbing the barn clean from blood.

Later, once Keiko had stopped crying, a small farewell service was held for the miniature horse as it was hoped that it would help the little girl come to terms with the lost of her brief pet, and now that it was over Keiko had locked herself in her room not wanting to talk to anybody. Ken remained outside the room trying to persuade his daughter to let him in, to no success, whilst Kaiba and Bakura tackled the dishes which had been left over from breakfast.

"I'm back!" Suki's voice sounded through the house as she returned home. She walked through the downstairs of the house looking for signs of life and ended in the kitchen. "Where's dad and Keiko?" she asked as she placed several bags down on the floor.

"He's upstairs trying to get Keiko to come out of her room." Kaiba replied with his hands in a sink full of bubbles.

"Why?" Suki asked. Behind her followed a tower of boxes and bags which were being carried by an over loaded chauffeur who struggled underneath it all.

"We found Minty dead this morning." Bakura explained as he dried the dishes. "She's still quite upset about it."

"Looks like it's time for me to step in with a sisterly chat." Suki sighed. "I'll have her out of that room in no time at all." She noticed the chauffeur behind her and called over to the two boys. "Help him unload and then set everything up for me please, I'd like it ready for Keiko to play with."

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"Do you think that she'll want to play with all this?" Bakura asked as he'd just finished assembling a pink multi-storey castle and looked around to see a tropical island, fairground, several shops, scooters, lots of small accessories and dozens of brightly coloured ponies scattered across the floor around them. "She's still very upset about that horse."

"She's five years old; she'll get over it pretty quickly." Kaiba assured as he struggled to open the plastic packaging that contained a single pony. After opening dozens already you'd have though he'd have got the hang of it by now, but no, he was still finding it difficult and had gained many cuts and scratches from opening them. "But I don't think that Minty's death was an accident."

"Who could have done such a thing?" Bakura asked as he briefly remembered the sight of the skewed miniature horse, which made him feel quite queasy.

"I have my suspicions." Kaiba said as he finally ripped through the packaging and then swore as he felt the plastic cut his skin. "Stupid boxes, I should sue who ever came up with this idea." The cut near his knuckle started to bleed and he put it near his mouth to suck it clean hatefully glaring down at the now-free yellow unicorn that smiled up at him.

"Let me see that." Bakura said to Kaiba who took his hand away from his mouth to show him. Now that the blood had been sucked away it was no longer bleeding though the cut was still clearly visible. He leaned over to kiss the wound on his lover's hand and couldn't stop himself from leaning further over to be able to kiss his lips too.

Kaiba allowed the kiss to continue even though he knew he shouldn't. It had only been just over a day since they had started their act for during the time they were with his father and sisters, but he'd missed being close to Bakura so much during that short time. Surely one little kiss couldn't hurt? There was nobody around to see so what harm could it do? He kissed back in return and pulled Bakura closer to him. His fingers ran through the long white hair of his lover and he could hear their hearts beating together so loudly that it almost drowned out the sound of a throat being cleared behind them.

The kissing stopped and quickly the two parted as Ken looked down at them. "Please don't do that with Suki and Keiko so nearby." He said. "They'll be down shortly."

Bakura watched Ken continue to the kitchen leaving them alone once more. "If he really is okay with us being together then why is he making us hide it from your sisters?" he said feeling frustrated.

"He _is _okay with us." Kaiba answered, though he too found it a little strange. "We should really be respecting his wishes; he is my father after all. Besides, we'll be going home tomorrow so we'll have plenty of time to spend with each other before school starts up again next week."

"Yeah." Bakura sighed none too thrilled with the thought of their last year at high school about to start. "And then it'll be back to you being cooped up in your office for hours after school."

"There's no reason why you can't be cooped up there with me." The grin on his lover's face told Bakura that Kaiba didn't intend on working if he were to take up the offer.

Two pairs of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs as Suki guided Keiko whose eyes she was covering with her hands. The little girl giggled with each step that was slowly being taken. "Will I like the surprise?"

At the sound of the sisters approaching, Bakura jumped to his feet and started gathering up all of the toys' packaging and placed it all into a black bin liner. Kaiba also got to his feet and helped, although Bakura had to rescue the yellow unicorn from being thrown away with the packaging as Kaiba had thrown it in as revenge for the cut on his hand. They had just enough time to move out of the room as Suki and Keiko appeared.

"Okay you can look now." Suki announced as she removed her hands from over her little sister's eyes.

Keiko gasped in delight at seeing all of the toys set out before her. She'd never seen so many ponies, and all of them were now hers including; "Crystal Rainbow Castle!" she squealed and turned to hug her big sister. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Like mostly, she had been carrying her pony plushie which she dropped onto the floor as she now headed to play with her new toys.

Suki smiled as she watched her sister play. "Thank you, I hate de-boxing those things they always leave me with cuts and scratches." She said as Kaiba joined her in the doorway, on his own as Bakura had gone to put out the trash.

"I give you up to 5000 dollars to spend, and that is what you bought?!" Kaiba said waving his arm to indicate the sea of mostly pink pony toys. "Didn't you spend any of it on yourself?"

"Not a penny." Suki replied shaking her head and handed the plastic card back. "You can't buy me, Kaiba." She sneered. "And you can't compare with me when it comes to Keiko."

Kaiba glared hard at Suki. He thought they'd sorted things out last night but clearly not. All she'd ever done was play games with him. What was the heck was her problem? His gaze momentarily flicked to the discarded green and pink plushie on the floor, the one that he'd bought Keiko which she always carried around with her. "What's wrong Suki? Worried that our sister likes me more than you? Is that why you bought her all of those toys, to win back her affection?" He saw the angry look on Suki's face and knew he was right. "But did you really have to murder Minty? What did that poor creature ever do to you?"

"I didn't do anything to that stupid freak of a horse!" Suki hissed through grated teeth so as not to raise her voice for Keiko to overhear. Like a flick of a switch her mood changed as she smiled and waved over Kaiba's shoulder. "Hi Ryou."

Kaiba turned around to see Bakura was now there and Suki used the moment to dash away to play with her sister. "She just used me again." He said as Bakura stood next to him. "And I can't do anything about it until I can get her on her own."

Bakura made no reply but just stood there beside Kaiba. "Ryou?" Kaiba frowned. "Have you've been crying?" he lifted Bakura's chin to see damp patches around his eyes.

"I don't feel too well, I think that I'm just going to go and lie down for a while." Bakura eased the hand away from his chin but still saw Kaiba frown.

"Seto, come play with us." Keiko shouted from where she sat near her brand new pony castle.

Kaiba looked over to where Keiko was sat smiling happily waiting for him to join them as Suki sat nearby and had a face like thunder at hearing her call for him. "Go." Bakura whispered.

Kaiba turned back to Bakura. "She has Suki." He didn't want to leave his lover alone like this, and could sense that there was something Bakura wasn't telling him.

"And she has you." Bakura pointed out. "Don't worry about me I'll be fine." He smiled and even pushed Kaiba to get him moving in his sister's direction.

"Here, you can be Brights Brightly." Keiko said as Kaiba sat down next to her on the opposite side to Suki, and handed him the yellow unicorn which smiled up at him.

Bakura watched as Kaiba took the yellow unicorn and then grabbed hold of a scooter, placing it in it and then pulled it back along the floor before letting it go to zoom all the way across the room where it would stay until someone else retrieved it. Seeing Kaiba play with Keiko made Bakura long to be able to do the same with his sister even though it would have been impossible to do. Again, he envied what Kaiba had.

Slowly Bakura turned to head for the stairs and as he stepped up the first step, clenched at his side as tears streamed down from his eyes. Ken was passing by carrying a tray of snacks and at seeing the boy on the stairs he asked; "Going to pack your bags and leave now?"

"No." Bakura wheezed as he fought back the pain in his side. "We'll be leaving tomorrow and then the next time you see Seto I'll have left him."

"Good." Ken replied. "I'm glad to see you're taking the chat we just had seriously, because if not then not then next time I'll break those ribs and every other bone in your body as well. I'm not having you brainwash my son into becoming one of your kind, you fag scum."

Bakura took another step up still clenching his side. He didn't want to leave Kaiba, but he'd also had more than enough abuse to last him a lifetime and then some. And if he was able to tell him about Ken, what were the chances that Kaiba would actually choose him over family? He managed to reach the top of the stairs with great effort and an extremely heavy heart.


	29. Chapter 29

**Big thankies for the review :)**

**Chapter Twenty-nine**

"Those girls are late up this morning." Ken said the next morning at breakfast as he glared at Bakura sat next to Kaiba eating their cereal. He couldn't wait to see the back of the boy so that his son would be able to live his life _normally_ again without being brainwashed into thinking that he was gay.

"Let them sleep." Kaiba wasn't in a rush to see Suki anytime soon after all the nonsense she was putting him through. He looked up at Bakura and smiled. "Are you feeling better this morning?"

"Yes, thank you." Bakura lied nodding his head. He wanted to tell Kaiba what was plaguing his mind but with Ken still in the same room and the fear of rejection, he held himself back from doing so.

Ken looked at his watch, it was getting late in the morning and soon his son would be travelling back to Domino city. "I'm going to go and wake them." He announced. "I don't want them waking up whilst I'm not here and wondering where I am."

"What is he talking about?" Bakura asked Kaiba after he had watched Ken leave them alone in the kitchen. "Where else would he be?"

"He's coming back to Domino with us." Kaiba explained and saw a slightly panicky expression appear on Bakura's face. "Since we didn't visit the graves yesterday we're going to do it today and then I'll drive him back here which will mean that it will be just you and me from then on." He leaned over and kissed Bakura on the cheek before flashing him a smile and continued to eat his breakfast.

Kaiba watched as Bakura stared into his bowl with a sad expression on his face. Something was clearly bothering him and Kaiba guessed that it had to do with them pretending to be just friends during their time here. He couldn't blame his lover from feeling frustrated, he too couldn't wait until they could be alone again and then he would be able to share with him his thoughts from the previous night. Oh to heck with it, what he had to say would most likely cheer Bakura up now if he told him, Ken was currently busy trying to wake the two girls anyway so he had some time to do so. He pushed the empty bowls across the table, reached out and took hold of Bakura's hand causing him to stare up into his deep blue eyes.

"Ryou, I've been thinking about the future." Kaiba began. "This will be our last year of school and then we'll be free to make our own choices in life." He himself couldn't wait until that time as the clause his stepfather had created stopped him from taking full and sole control of Kaiba Corp until that time. "I want to spend as much of that time with you." His heart beat faster as it tried to escape from his chest as he was about to say the three words he'd been so scared of. In his mind he'd heard himself say _'I love you'_ but was still having trouble letting the words pass by his lips, even now as he sat there mouth open but mute. Kaiba knew he'd do anything for him, even sell his company if that was what Bakura wanted so why couldn't he say three simple little words?

"There are some things that I need to tell you." Bakura interrupted the silence as he spoke with a quiet and croaky voice as though he was about to start crying. He pulled his hand free from Kaiba's grasped and turned his big brown eyes from his gaze. "Seto, I …." There was a pause as he couldn't manage to bring himself to say what it was that was upsetting him so.

"What is it?" Kaiba asked. He could clearly see and tell that Bakura was keeping something from him, something that was causing him to suffering in silence and alone. "Ryou?" There was an empty look in Bakura's eye as he stared down at the table surface, his fist clenched and turning his knuckles white.

Suddenly there was a loud thud from upstairs which made them both jump. "What was that?" Kaiba muttered and began to head off in the direction of the noise to see if all was okay upstairs, slowly followed by Bakura who was still nursing his bruised side with every step on the way up.

"Hey, what's all the racket about?" Kaiba asked across the landing as he could see his father slumped in Suki's doorway. His father looked extremely pale and as he struggled to get back to his feet Kaiba rushed across to help him. He was about to ask his father if he was okay but lost his voice as he gazed in at Suki's room.

In the room both sisters' bodies were pale, almost blue in colour a clear indication that they had both been dead for several hours. Suki's lifeless body lay naked and revealed on top of her bed whilst Keiko's whose was still tightly hugging her green pony, lay on the floor in the middle of the room with a broken neck.

Ken's face wrinkled and cracked as he let out a mournful cry and tried to push past Kaiba who was forced to hold him back. "Let me go Seto, I need to be with them. Let go of me damn it!"

"I can't let you in until the police arrive." Kaiba said feeling his voice shake. He didn't want to keep Ken away from his daughters, especially since he knew the pain his father was feeling as he had felt the same upon seeing Mokuba's lifeless body, but knew that he had to. "You'll only contaminate any evidence there is." He used all the force he could summon both mentally and physically to keep Ken back and managed to pin him to the wall. It was only a matter of seconds before his father stopped resisting and just crumbled down to the floor with tears streaming down his face.

Kaiba's eyes watered from what he had witnessed and then he remembered that Bakura was following along behind him. "Ryou, don't come any closer." He turned to warn him but was too late as he saw Bakura standing in the open doorway; eyes wide and leaking tears at the sight that they saw.

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Almost half an hour later the police arrived at the ranch and sealed off the main house in order to carry out their investigation. Kaiba, Bakura and Ken had been moved into the guesthouse hotel where they were questioned and statements taken by the police as routine for a murder situation. Right now the three men where seated in the lounge as several officers talked quietly amongst themselves about what should happen next.

Rising from his seat, Kaiba got up from where he sat next to Bakura, walked to the window and peered out back towards the house only to see two body bags being carried between several of the teams investigators and another with a clear plastic evidence bag that contained the green plushie that Keiko had loved so much. He glanced back at his father who sat in a state of shock, his head buried in his hands that rested upon his knees, and prayed that he'd forgive him for not acting sooner which might have prevented the whole thing from happening.

It was now clear to Kaiba that his suspicions about the miniature horse's death the day before were right, it hadn't just been an accident but more like a warning that things were about to be taken from him again. There was only one person he knew that would stoop so low as to involve innocent lives for gaining back what they believed to be rightfully theirs. He closed his eyes and thought about the half sister he'd never see smile again, and although it was nowhere near as tragic as his brother's death he'd still miss her. Suki on the other hand was different, he wouldn't mourn for her after the crap she'd put him through but even she didn't deserve to die like she had.

Slowly Kaiba made his way back over to Bakura and sat down beside him, reaching out for the comforting hand which squeezed his tightly to let him know that he wasn't alone to cope with everything at a time like this. He glanced again at his father who seemed to be keeping his distance from them and blocking out the world around him, and wondered just how long it would be before he'd turn to them for help.

"I'm afraid we can't let you leave this ranch until we've finished our investigation. You're to stay in this guesthouse until then." One of the officers came forward to speak with the three of them. "There was evidence at the scene which suggests that both girls had been raped. To eliminate you all from the investigation we're going to have to take a DNA sample from each of you."

Kaiba watched as the officer placed three small plastic containers onto the table in front of them. His eyes narrowed on the containers with hatred as he knew what they were about to be asked to do.

"The easiest way for us to carry out the tests is for us to take samples of the same type of substance of that which we are looking to find." The officer explained to the three men as he scanned from one to the next, the father - who was still clearly in shock, the brother? – staring hard at the table in front of him, and the lover of the brother - who seemed to have been shaken by everything but was the only one who had shown any sign of taking in what was being said to them. "I know it will be difficult for you to provide the samples we need but it is necessary in order ……"

_Smash!_ The three sample containers shattered as they hit the wall with force. "You won't be getting any samples from us." Kaiba growled.

Ken looked across from where he sat, surprised by his son's rage and saw him shake off the white haired boy as he tried to hold him back and keep him calm. What could have possibly made him act like the way he did? He too didn't like the idea of what was asked, but if it cleared their names from the suspect list and helped the police to track down the killer then he'd do it. Could it be that his son had something to hide?

"Mr Kaiba, I understand that it is a difficult thing to be asked of you all but ….." The police officer tried to make him understand why it needed to be done but didn't stand a chance of finishing his speech as Kaiba growled back the same reply.

"You won't be getting those samples." Kaiba's voice and eyes were filled with anger.

"Seto please, these guys are only trying to do their job." Bakura pleaded with him once more, he'd never seen Kaiba so angry before.

Taking hold of Bakura, Kaiba positioned himself so that his back was now facing the police officer and his father, and lowered his voice so only his lover could hear. "If we give them what they want, they'll use it to plant evidence, frame one of us and tear us apart." He looked pleadingly at Bakura; he couldn't afford to lose him at a time like this, nor ever for that matter.

Bakura now knew where the anger had come from, it was simply a mask. He briefly remembered Kaiba explaining to him about Gozaburo's death, which had been a plain suicide but that the police had gathered false evidence and attempted to frame him for murder. Kaiba had been so scared of being parted from his brother and now felt that he was somehow in the same situation with being parted from him.

Looking over Kaiba's shoulder Bakura was met with a loathing glare from Ken, a glare which told him that he still wasn't welcome and should leave immediately. But looking into those deep blue eyes that pleaded for his support he knew that he couldn't leave Kaiba like this and would stand by him for as long as he could. Taking hold of Kaiba's hand he felt his stomach flip over with fear as he spoke; "I'll be right here for you no matter what happens. Please, just let them eliminate you from their list."

"They should be arresting my uncle." Kaiba raised his voice, ignoring the sample situation and stared over his shoulder towards the police officer. "I bet he's the one that is behind all of this."

"We're looking into that allegation, but we still need to take DNA samples from you all." The police officer sighed at not being able to get the investigation moving further along. An idea entered his mind which would hopefully get Kaiba's approval and co-operation. "We could take a cheek swab instead to gain the DNA sample needed, but it will take longer to process as it's a more complex procedure."

Kaiba nodded in agreement, let go of Bakura and approached the police officer, removing his cheque book from his jacket pocket as he did so. "I'll pay whatever it takes to get the results processed quickly. I want that bastard found and trailed." He scribbled his name onto a blank cheque and handed it over. "But be warned, if I find him first then I'll kill him for what he's done."

The blood in Bakura's veins froze. Even though Kaiba was using his anger to cover up his fears the tone that was used told him that Kaiba did intend to carry out his threat if ever the opportunity arose, and that scared Bakura greatly.

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The police had finished their investigation for the day and left the three men alone to be able to mourn and come to terms with what had happened. Ken had been quiet during the hours that had passed and hadn't shown anymore negative feelings towards Bakura. Perhaps he had acknowledged that the boy would provide the support he wouldn't be able to give just yet or he didn't intend to reveal his true feelings towards his son's relationship in front of him, either way Bakura was just glad to be there with Kaiba while he could be.

Bakura sat on the couch with Kaiba lay resting his head on Bakura's lap. They'd been sat like that for a half hour and as Bakura ran his fingers through Kaiba's brown hair he had soon fallen asleep. He watched his lover lie sleeping and felt his stomach whirl with nerves at the thought of having to leave; something which he didn't want to do but knew that was going to happen thanks to Ken. There was another sensation in his stomach too as it rumbled and growled to let him know that he was hungry.

Regardless of the previous events Bakura wasn't going to starve himself of food and energy so carefully he wriggled out from beneath Kaiba so as not to wake him. Glancing across to where Ken sat lost in his thoughts Bakura politely asked; "Is there anything that I can get you?"

"No thank you." Ken replied before he watched Bakura leave the room.

In the huge kitchen, Bakura searched for something to eat but wasn't successful as the guesthouse was bare from not being in use since Kaiba had bought the ranch. He took a glass from the cupboard and ran the tap to get himself a drink of water.

"How can he sleep so peacefully after what's happen?" Bakura heard Ken's voice behind him and turned to see the older man standing there at the opposite side of one of the kitchen's work surfaces. "It doesn't seem to have fazed him at all."

"That's not true!" Bakura almost choked on his water as he quickly gulped it down in order to come to Kaiba's defence. "He just doesn't like to show it, take that outburst earlier for example, that was his way of coping."

"Still, it does look like he's got something to hide." Ken shrugged as he leaned against the counter.

"You don't seriously think that Seto did it?" Bakura couldn't believe that Ken might think that his own son would be capable of such a thing.

"There are several things that point to it." Ken admitted. "The outburst earlier which you've just stated was his way of coping with things, and since you know my son better than I at this moment I guess I should take your word of it." He gave Bakura a disapproving glare but said no more about the relationship. "Then there's the way that he was obsessed with me and the girls, but since then we've discovered that he was only searching for family. And did I ever mention that I caught him threatening to rape Suki?"

_No, that's a lie. _Bakura thought to himself. _Seto would never do such a thing._

"But no, I don't suspect him." Ken stopped leaning against the counter and slowly started to make his way closer to Bakura. "However I do suspect that the killer is in this house, so if it wasn't Seto, and wasn't me then that only leaves one more choice."

The glass fell to the floor and smashed sending water everywhere as Bakura dropped it in horror of what he was hearing. "Me?!" he cried weakly as Ken came at him at lightning speed.

"Is this how you get back at me for warning you from my son?" Ken demanded threateningly as he grabbed Bakura and shook him.

"It wasn't me." Bakura cried and then felt the wall behind him.

"You took advantage of the fact that Suki was extremely fond of you to get close to her didn't you?" Ken slammed the boy hard several times against the wall. "And Keiko was only a child!"

"It wasn't me." Bakura cried again with tears streaming down his face.

Ken slammed Bakura again and watched as the boy slide to the floor were he lay slumped and crying. "I won't kill you." He smirked with a crazed look in his eyes, before he rolled his sleeves back and clenched his fists ready to strike out. "I'll leave them something to put on trail"

"It wasn't me!" was the last thing Bakura screamed before the darkness snatched him away.

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**Okay, any guesses as to who'd done it?**


	30. Chapter 30

**Thank you for the review and guess as to who'd done it ;)**

**Chapter Thirty**

There was a loud bang which woke Kaiba from his peaceful sleep. Startled by the noise he almost fell off the couch and then saw that he was alone in the room. He stretched and yawned before he went in search of Bakura and Ken, wondering how they had been coping during the time he had slept.

"Ryou?" Kaiba called out as he walked down the hall. "Dad?" Was he ever going to get use to saying a word which he couldn't remember ever using since before he'd been placed in the orphanage? He spotted the kitchen door open, entered and found those he had been looking for.

Kaiba froze for a split second at the sight he saw and struggled to find his voice. "What happened?" he asked shakily as he stared down at his father who lay on the floor at Bakura's feet, part of Ken's face was missing and Bakura was covered in his blood. "Is he….?" He couldn't bring himself to ask if his father was dead as he feared he already knew the answer.

"Stone cold." Bakura nodded and wiped away at the blood covering his face which also muffled his voice as he spoke. "You were right Seto, it was your uncle, I saw him. He tried to shot me but your father got in the way and took the blast."

Kaiba could see that he'd been crying as there were red sore patches round Bakura's eyes and he also avoided eye contact probably due to him being in shock from what had happened. "Which way did he go?" He asked, there was no way he was going to let his uncle get away with what he had done now and he had to stop him before something happened to Bakura or himself,. He watched as Bakura pointed to the opposite end of the kitchen which led into the dining hall and raced off in the same direction without a second thought, he'd mourn his loses later.

The dining hall was cleared from tables and chairs which were all neatly lined up to one side of the room making it look bigger than what he remembered from his visit with Bakura. _Hang on a second! _Kaiba thought to himself. Bakura had never seen his uncle as he had been too busy with his head in the menu during their visit to have seen him, and he'd never told Bakura what his uncle looked like either. Something was wrong.

Slowing his pace Kaiba began to turn back around to return to the kitchen only to feel something force its way through his right arm accompanied by a loud bang. He yelped in pain and clutched at his arm which bleed from the gunshot wound before his eyes fell upon his shooter. His head whirled with confusion at what he was seeing. "Ryou?"

Bakura stood in the kitchen/dining hall doorway with a gun pointing directly at Kaiba; smears of blood from his last victim were still visible and enhanced the twisted smile which crept across his face. His eyes were narrowed and had a crazed look to them as well as his voice taking a slightly different tone. "Hello Kaiba."

"I got rid of you!" Kaiba exclaimed at seeing Bakura under the control of the spirit of the millennium ring. Warm blood oozed through his fingers, causing him to grip tighter to stop the flow and gritted his teeth as he held back the pain that he felt.

"No,_ you_ got rid of _my_ ring, melted it down so that _I _wouldn't exist." He lowered the gun slightly but still ready to use as he gave a little chuckle. "Well most of it." He took several steps closer to Kaiba but still there was a lengthy gap between them. "Didn't you even bother to count the teeth on it when you removed it from this body?"

He glared at Kaiba to make sure he was following what was being said under that despising look he was giving off. "There should have been five, you only removed four." Running his free hand along his chest he stopped over Bakura's heart and gripped at the shirt tightly. "Here is where the last tooth lies with my soul consealed in it. Buried deep within your lover's heart, to remove it would mean certain death for us both." He spoke revealing that they were still one joined in the same body.

"You've been controlling Ryou all this time?" Kaiba hissed angrily and carefully took a step backwards to increase the gap once more as he wondered if the gun that the spirit held was still loaded.

"If I had, you'd have been dead a long time ago." Yami Bakura laughed as he watched his victim retreat from him. He'd kill Kaiba soon enough so why not have some fun and toy with the boy for awhile first? "At the time I wasn't strong enough without the rest of the millennium ring, but when he was apart from you during the time he was working I began to feed off of his loneliness and misery" His lips curled is disgust as he looked Kaiba over. "But then he decided that he wanted you more than his job and those feelings disappeared once he returned, leaving me weakened again.

"And then there was the morning you two broke up." He began to pace around Kaiba who also turned with him from where he stood in the middle of the dining hall. "You just about broke his heart with the things you said to him, which was great for me to feed from." He took a sudden stride towards the CEO holding his finger and thumb closely together. "I came this close to over throwing him as he wallowed in self pity before that Joey interfered and encouraged him to go after you."

Slightly disappointed that Kaiba had stood his ground and not flinched, Yami Bakura took several steps away from him and completely lowed the gun by his side as he placed it back into his pocket. "I knew it wouldn't be too long before you brought about your own downfall." He smirked and watched Kaiba still nursing the blood flow from his arm. "If you _had _loved Ryou, you would have made him your centre of attention, _nothing_ else would have mattered, including your father. But no, you didn't think twice about how he'd feel seeing you regain your family when all of his are dead and buried, and so he became jealous of that which allowed me enough strength to finally attempt my take over."

Reaching the side of the room he grabbed a chair to seat himself down as he prepared to break Kaiba once and for all. "I killed that horse as a test of my power over him. Unfortunately I didn't have that much control so had to make it look like an accident instead of being able to have some creative fun with its inners, but on the plus side Ryou wasn't able to remember a thing about it." He eyed Kaiba still listening to everything he was saying. "It's your father that you have to thank for enabling me to gain my full control again, if he hadn't beaten Ryou last night whilst you were busy playing with toys I wouldn't have gotten that strength and they'd all still be alive.

"Don't tell me that you failed to pick up on the fact that your father was a homophobic?" Yami Bakura laughed as he saw Kaiba's expression alter slightly before it regained the same despising look once more. "Now where was I?" smirked the spirit amused at being able to get Kaiba to falter. "Oh yeah, last night."

The evil twisted smile appeared again upon Yami Bakura's face. "After Ryou had cried himself to sleep I took over and crept into Suki's room to retest my renewed control over him. Sure the girl put up some resistance as I tried to satisfy myself, but smothering her with a pillow soon put and end to her cries and her strength drained away as she lay there dying whilst I continued to enjoy myself. Of course this woke Ryou in the process and as he tried to over throw me the strangest thing happened.

"We fought and as a result from our conflict I gained control of the body whilst his soul still remained up front." He was sure that any moment now, Kaiba would break and his face twisted even more with the memory of what he had done. "I made him carry on fucking her dead body as he cried like a baby and pleaded me to stop." Bingo, - he saw Kaiba's firmly closed mouth twitch as he struggled to keep control of his emotions.

"The only reason I stopped was because the little one entered the room and I couldn't have her informing you or your father of what was happening. I had just planned to snap her neck but after hearing Ryou beg me not to rape her; well I couldn't do as he asked." He watched as Kaiba's eyes began to fill up. "They both cried as I forced them to do as I pleased, and only once this body prevented me from thrusting any longer did I put the child out of her misery. I guess you could say that I raped all three of them last night, Ryou suffering twice of course."

"You sick bastard!" Kaiba roared as he charged towards the spirit ready to tear him to pieces. He didn't care about the fact that he would be harming Bakura, making the spirit pay for what he'd done was all that filled his mind.

Yami Bakura watched as Kaiba came closer willingly running to his own death. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gun to take another shot at the CEO and this time got him in the thigh area of his right leg.

Kaiba fell to the floor as the pain shot through his leg. He let out a few sobs at being helpless to do anything to get back at Yami Bakura for hurting those he cared for. Maybe the spirit had been right all along and that he was incapable of loving anyone but himself? Why hadn't he taken better care of Ryou? He knew that he would be prepared to do anything for him so why did he treat him badly? _No you didn't treat him badly._ He told himself. _That's just the spirit playing with your mind, that's what he wants you to think._

"You're wrong." Kaiba stared up to see that Yami Bakura was almost stood by his side. He struggled to pull his wounded leg close to him so that he could lean against the wound to stop the bleeding. "Ryou spent the happiest time of his life with me and we'll be happy again once we get rid of you once and for all."

"Have you listened to yourself?" Yami Bakura exclaimed in amusement at Kaiba still trying to hold himself together. "You're deluded."

"I'm not the one who's deluded." Kaiba smirked.

"At least I'm willing to do anything to keep what little love we have alive!" Yami Bakura screamed out, taking Kaiba by surprise. He breathed hard as he kept the gun pointed directly at Kaiba's head. "I was the one who was there when he first asked for a friend. I didn't ignore him like his family did; I was the one who stood up to the bullies who made his life a living hell. He knows I will always be there for him when everyone else has gone."

"That's no excuse for you to put him through the things you have done." Kaiba stared up into the crazed eyes that looked down at him

"I won't let you take Ryou from me, I _need_ him. You think you know what its like to be lonely? You have no idea, what it's like to be alone for thousands of years. It's not my fault if I've lost the ability to interact properly with others." There was a look of desperation in Yami Bakura's eyes as he drew the gun in front of Kaiba's face. "I think it's time you found out what true loneliness is."

"_No!"_ Kaiba could have sworn he heard his brother's voice as he clenched his eyes shut ready for the trigger to be pulled. He opened his eyes to see the spirit struggling to get the gun to fire at him and quickly took his chance to turn the tables in his favour as he pushed all of his weight onto his wounded leg and struck out with his other to knock Yami Bakura to the ground in one clean sweep.

His eyes were watering with the pain from his leg as Kaiba stumbled trying to retrieve the gun before the spirit. Now he stood legs apart as he tried to balance the weight and ease the pain in his right leg, both hands on the gun trying to keep it steady as he aimed it at the murderer.

"You won't shoot me." Laughed Yami Bakura as he slowly go to his feet. "Because shooting me would be shooting your lover, and besides the bloody thing's broken so you couldn't even if you tr…….."

BANG! Kaiba pulled the trigger and to his surprise it actually fired and hit Yami Bakura in the right side of his chest causing the spirit to stagger and cough up some blood before he took several steps closer towards him. Hatred burned deep in the brown eyes that focused on him.

Kaiba knew that the spirit was unable to cope with too much physical pain as he had seen Ryou stab himself several times before to regain control of his body. He fired the gun again, this time through Yami Bakura's stomach and was rewarded with the spirit disappearing as he saw the change in Bakura's eyes as Ryou reappeared before flopping down to the floor.

Blocking out the pain from his wounds, Kaiba rushed to Bakura's side who was crying out for him. "It's okay, I'm here." He spoke softly holding back the tears of having caused his lover to be in so much pain.

"He… hurt you……" Bakura found it hard to speak as the pain raged in his body and droplets of blood spluttered from his mouth. "I'm ... sor..."

"Shhh, you don't have to apologise." Kaiba cooed as he brushed back the white hair. "It wasn't your fault it was mine, I said I'd protect you from him and I failed you again."

"No." Bakura tried to shake his head as he placed his hand lovingly onto Kaiba's face and could see the tears stored up in those big blue eyes.

"I'm going to put it right." Kaiba croaked and struggled to stop himself from crying in front of his lover. "I won't let him torment you anymore."

"Thank you." Bakura smiled as tears spilled out of his sad brown eyes.

"There's something I need to tell you." Kaiba spoke with his eyes shut as he nuzzled into the hand that Bakura had been resting on his face. He re-opened his watery eyes and looked deeply into the brown eyes of the one that he adored so much. "I love you." He whispered.

"I already knew." Bakura smiled at finally hearing Kaiba say those words, his mouth quivered and more tears fell from his eyes.

Kaiba couldn't keep control of his feelings any longer and his eyes overflowed as he bent over to kiss Bakura. The blood on Bakura's lips was warm and left a coppery taste in Kaiba's mouth but still he didn't want the kiss to end although he knew it had to.

_Bang!_ The gunshot was slightly muffled as the gun had been pressed up close to Bakura's chest, directly over his heart. A serge of tears gushed from Kaiba's eyes as he felt the last breath leave his lovers lips and slowly pulled away to see the peaceful resting expression on Bakura's face.

Moving back to stand up, and dropping the gun from his grasp as he felt the pain return to his wounded leg, Kaiba tumbled to the floor and landed in a heap. For the second time that year Seto Kaiba had lost his entire world again. An ear splitting mournful howl escaped him as he buried his face in to his blood covered arm.

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The running water turned orange as the blood was washed from Kaiba's hands. He scrubbed as hard as he could to get rid of any trace of his and Bakura's blood, trying all the while not to think about what had happened just a couple of hours ago. Satisfied that his hands were now clean, he stopped the water from pouring out of the tap, looked at himself in the reflection of the mirror that hung above the sink basin and hated the face that he saw staring back at him.

He hadn't wanted to kill Bakura but knew that now his lover would be free of the pain and torment which he had suffered over the years caused by the spirit of the millennium ring. Closing his eyes Kaiba remembered the good times they had shared knowing that he'd never forget Bakura's happy smiling face, and that his memory would remain with him just like Mokuba, his mother and although he hadn't known her for very long, Keiko.

Kaiba's thoughts turned to his father and though he was didn't want to believe a word that Yami Bakura had said about what Ken had done to Bakura, he had a feeling that in had been true. It was because of this that he hadn't bothered to return to Ken's body and cover it to give him them same dignity that he had made sure Bakura had by leaving his shirt behind to cover his lovers face. Mournfully he wished that he had not bothered finding and trying to get to know his father as his old memories of him had been better that the hate he felt for Ken right now.

Slowly and carefully Kaiba left the on suite bathroom where he had just showered and dressed his wounds, and began to clothe himself as there was a hammering on the front door. He fastened his pants and slid a shirt over his arms as he made his way down the stairs as fast as his injured leg would allow him.

As the door opened Kaiba was pushed aside as several police officers with guns forced their way into the guest house. One of the officers remained behind to inform Kaiba of what was happening. "The test results have been returned from the lab and we're here to arrest Ryou Bakura for the rapes and murders of the Makenzie sisters."

There was an uncomfortable feeling in Kaiba's stomach as he heard what he had already knew confirmed by someone else. "You can't do that." He said plainly.

"I'm afraid we can." The police officer replied as he searched his pockets for his badge and paper work which entitled him to do so.

"No, really you can't" Kaiba shook his head sadly.

For a moment the officer stared at Kaiba waiting for an explanation when one of his men shouted across the foyer to him. "Sir, we've found two dead back here, one of them is our suspect." His gaze turned back to the young CEO.

"I killed him." Kaiba croaked his confession and held his wrists out ready for them to be cuffed.


	31. Chapter 31

**Thanks for reviewing again. :)**

**Chapter Thirty-one**

The waiting lounge at the Kaiba Corp building was quite full as Yugi looked around him. Next to him was his grandpa, Joey, Tea and Tristan. Over by the far side he saw Kaiba's maid, Ros and who he suspected were some of her family members. Nearby a group of several guys wearing smart black suits, who all either typed away on their laptops or paid attention to the news channel that was being shown on the television screen behind the reception desk. And alone at the edge of the waiting area stood an older dark haired man.

"It's strange that Kaiba would call for something like this." Tea said as she too scanned the people waiting around them.

"I find it stranger that he invited Joey along." Tristan said as he leaned back with his arms folded.

"I'm with ya on that one." Joey added sat in a similar position.

There was a brief pause before Yugi's grandpa spoke. "Did the letter say what this was about?" he asked his grandson wanting to know more about why they had been asked to attend there at that particular time.

"No." Yugi replied shaking his head as he remembered the letter that Kaiba had sent him. "It just said for you, Joey and me to attend and that the others could come along if they wanted too."

"You don't think that he's arranged to have us killed too do you?" Joey asked only to be met with disapproving looks from his friend's. "What?! The guy killed Bakura and them two was an item, so what makes you think he wouldn't do anything to us?" He tried not to think about it but he couldn't help but blame himself partly for Bakura's death as it had been him who had encouraged his friend to get back together with Kaiba.

"That's just crazy talk!" Tristan exclaimed at his friend's thought about how they may have been lured to their deaths. "Kaiba's serving life imprisonment, and there'd be no way he'd be able to organise something like that."

The friends fell silent as they all thought back over the trail, well what they knew anyway as a lot of the details had been keep from the public as to who the other three deaths were and why they had been on the ranch in the first place. All that they really knew for certain was that Kaiba had confessed to and been found guilty of killing Bakura and that he was now serving a life sentence for his crime.

"Did you have any luck getting to see Kaiba?" Tea asked Yugi quietly.

"No." Yugi replied sadly as his many attempts to arrange a prison visit had been unsuccessful. "So far he's refused all of my requests to see him." He wanted so badly to see Kaiba again as he wouldn't believe the things about him until he had heard them come from the CEO's own mouth. He had tried to approach Kaiba at the funeral service that had been held for Bakura but hadn't been able to get anywhere near the CEO due to the prison officers who surrounded him.

"Could those of you invited by mister Kaiba to attend here today please follow me." Roland addressed all of the people waiting in the lounge area.

Only Yugi, his grandpa, Joey, Ros and the lone man rose and followed after Roland as they rode the elevator all the way to the top floor and entered Kaiba's office were a man wearing a grey suit was seated behind Kaiba's desk with five metal briefcases lined up in front of him. With the seven of them all in the room Roland closed the door behind them.

"I'm a solicitor working on behalf of Seto Kaiba as he has instructed me to read out his living will to you all today." The man in grey spoke and was about to unfold the paper on the desk in front of him as Joey butted in.

"Living will?" The blonde asked looking confused.

The solicitor nodded and explained further. "Mister Kaiba has no plans to appeal against the sentence placed upon him, therefore he will live out the rest of his life behind bars and his assets are to be divided amongst those in this room." He scanned across the faces of the chosen six before he opened the statement that Kaiba had written and began to read it aloud. "To my uncle, Jacob Makenzie, I hand down to you the family ranch."

Surprise by the revelation that Kaiba still had living relatives, all eyes fell upon the strange man who had entered with them. An angry and despiteful look bore across his face at what was being given to him. "If he thinks that I'd take that place back after four people were murdered there then he's greatly mistaken." He approached the door to leave, opening it and stepping outside before he turned back to continue ranting. "When you next see that nephew of mine, you can tell him to shove his ranch right up his….."

_Slam! _The door closed blocking out the rest of Makenzie's words after Roland had swung it shut. He apologised before returning to the others who where waiting. Yugi and Joey couldn't help but fail to hide a smile as they suspected that Kaiba had been aware of how his uncle would react and had set him up out of pure spite. It was just a shame that he wasn't here to witness the comical reaction.

Shrugging, the solicitor continued to read on. "If, as I suspect, my offer is rejected then I ask that the buildings be demolished and the land to return back to as nature had intended." One down, five more to go. "To Roland, a loyal, trustworthy employee and friend, I give you this as my thanks." One of the metal briefcases was held out and Roland took it before just standing there holding it by his side.

"Aren't you going to open it?" The solicitor asked, curious to know what was in the case as he had no indication as to what Kaiba had left him.

"Not while I'm on duty." Roland replied. Even with Kaiba behind bars he still took his service to him extremely seriously.

"Very well then, I will continue." He held the next case ready. "To Ros, my longest serving employee. For years you've looked after my brother and I, and although there were many times that I never showed it I've always been greatful for everything you've ever done for us. You are like family to me which is why I hand over to you my mansion."

"Please give master Seto my deepest thanks." Ros said as she took hold of the case containing all of the legal documents for ownership of the Kaiba mansion. She still had a hard time believing the things that had been reported during the trail as she had witnessed how much Kaiba had loved Bakura and still refused to accept that he had committed murder.

The solicitor nodded and then picked up the case for the next person on the list. "To Wheeler." He raised his eyebrows sceptically waiting for Joey to take the briefcase from him.

"What that's it?!" Joey said, surely they had to be more written? But then again this was Kaiba after all so maybe it was a good thing that there wasn't any more. He took the briefcase which felt extremely light and opened it. "Well whadda ya know, it's empty!" He said shaking it knowing that Kaiba was probably having a laugh at his expense.

"No, look Joey." Yugi pointed to the floor where an envelope had flittered out from one of the inside compartments.

Joey bent down to retrieve it and read out what was written. "I.O.U. – Don't spend it all at once." _What the heck? _He placed his finger under the flap and tore it open. "I bet you it's a dollar bill." Why did he have to be the victim of one of Kaiba's stupid pranks? He pulled out the contents but it wasn't what he had first thought. "Oh look, he thought he'd be funny and leave me a cheque for…."

"Joey?" Yugi asked as his friend suddenly looked pale.

Not believing what he saw Joey scanned the cheque again. His name,-check. Currency, -check. Dated,-check. Signed,-check, Not void,-check. "One million dollars?" He struggled to find his voice. "I'm dreaming right? Tell me I'm dreaming!"

_Lucky Git! _The solicitor thought to himself and continued down the list. "To Solomon Muto, I repay my debt." He held up the next briefcase leaving one more remaining on the desk.

Yugi's grandpa found it hard to snap out of the shock after hearing just how much Joey had been given but managed to take the briefcase handed to him. _What debt?_ He thought to himself.

"I know it will not replace the sentimental value of your original, but apart from Yugi, I can not think of anyone else worthy enough to own these other than the one who taught the King of Games everything he knows." The solicitor finished reading the last of the will and folded the paper to place into his own briefcase.

Yugi and Joey looked at each other in surprise before turning to Yugi's grandpa. "Gramps, do you have what we think you have?" Joey asked excitedly.

Slowly Yugi's grandpa opened the case and there placed side by side in front of him were; "Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons!" All three gasped together and nearly fainted.

Envious at the things he had just witnessed shared out in front of him, the solicitor handed Yugi the last metal case before he packed up his things ready to leave.

Yugi stared at the case. There had been no message for him from Kaiba and with his rival's most powerful cards now belonging to his grandpa what could have possibly been left for him? As he opened the case, the first thing he saw was an envelope which had 'Yugi,-to be opened on your own' written on it. Pocketing it for later he then saw lots of paper work and scanned over the first dozen or so. "Wait!" he shouted to the solicitor who was almost out of the room. "I can't accept this; you have to get him to reconsider."

"You'll have to take that up with mister Kaiba yourself." The man in grey replied. "Today I'm just simply here to hand everything over. "We have a meeting scheduled for the end of the week to make everything official." He told Yugi and then swiftly left.

"What did you get Yuuge?" Joey asked as he held one of the Blue Eyes White Dragon cards in his hand.

"Kaiba Corp." Yugi replied still staring at the masses of paper work that had Kaiba's signature on them ready for Yugi to sign which would then make the company his.

There was a thud as Joey finally fainted and lay sprawled out on the floor.


	32. Chapter 32

**Thank you for reviewing. :)**

**Chapter Thirty – two**

Several minutes later once Joey had regained consciousness, the five of them along with their briefcases, returned back down the bottom of the building. The elevator doors pinged as they opened to reveal to its passengers, a crowd gathered around the reception area as they all watched the current news story being reported.

"Hey, guys!" Joey shouted to Tristan and Tea as he leaped from the elevator. "You'll never believe what just happened up there, it was unreal …..Ow!" Tea slapped him to be quiet.

"……. which leaves this case unexplained and a complete mystery." The news report finished and the room remained silent.

"Okay, what's going on?" Joey asked as he rubbed his arm where Tea had hit him and was rejoined by the others who had exited the elevator.

"Kaiba's dead." Tea said in disbelief.

"What?" Joey didn't believe what he'd heard. He laughed nervously. "This is some joke right?"

One of the girls behind the reception desk burst out into tears and was shortly joined by Ros at hearing the news. Yugi's grandpa offered his handkerchief to the maid who was then comforted be the family members she had arrived with. Roland insisted that he had something in his eye and parted from the crowd.

"They found his body in his cell first thing this morning." Tristan explained.

_No. _Yugi couldn't take in what had happened. He backed away over to the lounge area and sat as he remembered the letter from Kaiba that had been addressed to him. Taking it from his pocket, he stared at it for what seemed like hours but was in fact just a couple of seconds. Could it be possible that what he held was a suicide note?

Yugi opened the letter which had an additional piece of paper attached to it and heard Kaiba's voice in his head as he read the message quietly to himself. _'Dear Yugi. I've done my fair share of terrible things in my life and out of all of them I've only ever been ashamed of one which is the way that I've ignored and pushed you aside all the times that you've ever tried to be my friend. I know that I don't deserve another chance, but if it's not too late and you're willing to give it, then I'd like to be able to build that friendship. Seto Kaiba.' _

Carefully Yugi removed the attachment which was one of the permission slips for visiting rights which he had filled out to be able to see Kaiba in prison. Tears came to his eyes as he saw that it was signed granting him permission to be able to visit Kaiba tomorrow afternoon.

With his friends now gathered around him as he cried, Yugi longed for the friendship which would now be forever out of his reach. As much as he loved his friends none of them could compare to Kaiba, who's friendship he had always wanted and now knew that he would never get the chance to be able to experience it.

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"Seto?"

Kaiba heard his name called by a familiar voice and opened his eyes to see his brother knelt beside him. "Mokuba?" He pushed himself up and pulled his brother close to him. "Why do you look so sad?"

"Because you're here with me sooner than what I expected." Mokuba began to cry but then wiped the tears from his face as he pulled back from his brother and then smiled. "But I am happy to be with you again."

"I've died haven't I?" Kaiba asked as he looked around in the bright emptiness that surrounded them and saw his brother nod in response. He searched back in his thoughts for the last memory he had which had been him waiting in his cell counting down the hours and preying that Yugi would show for the visit that he had agreed to. "How?" he asked hoping that his brother knew the answer.

Mokuba shrugged. "Your heart just stopped beating." He didn't know how it was best to tell his brother that he had lost the will to live. "It broke."

Kaiba didn't know what to say and wondered if he would be missed by anyone. "What now?" He asked his brother.

"Well this is the place where you wait to be rejoined with those you treasure most in your heart before moving on into the light." Mokuba smiled happily before it disappeared again. "Mom had to move on as she was primarily waiting for dad, and I almost got kicked out too." He began to play with his fingers and averted Kaiba's gaze, waiting to be told off by his brother. "I interfered on two accessions when I shouldn't have. You know what they say; three strikes and you're out."

Kaiba thought back to the time when Mokuba had appeared before him when he had been attacked by the spirit of the millennium ring first time around and wondered when the other time had been before it suddenly struck him. "You stopped the gun from firing." Mokuba nodded, He was touched by the fact that his brother had been watching over him while he waited.

"I wish that I could have done more." Mokuba spoke sadly as his brother hugged him again. "But I didn't want to risk losing the chance of spending the rest of eternity with you both."

"Both?" Kaiba wasn't sure what his brother meant.

"That is if you still want me?" another familiar voice came from the figure that approached them.

"Ryou." Kaiba whispered as he looked up to see Bakura smiling down at him. His eyes began to fill up as his lover had waited to be with him too. He felt Mokuba let go of him to help pull him up to his feet and then led him other the join Bakura. "I'm sorry for what happened." He began to cry as the guilt he felt tore him apart.

"Don't be." Bakura smiled and wiped away Kaiba's tears. "Your love saved me from the darkness and now we're free to be together." He took Kaiba's hand and pulled him closer to kiss him softly.

"Are you two going to be doing that all the time?" Mokuba asked giggling as he hid his face behind his fingers that parted to see if the lovers had stopped kissing yet.

Not saying a word but laughing together, the three of them joined hands as they headed towards the light which would lead them to the next place. A place where they would be a family and each of them happy for the rest of eternity.

END

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**Well I hope that most of you enjoyed the fic. :)**

**For those of you that are interested, I made an AMV to go alongside this fic which the link to it can be found in my profile.**


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